Unlikely friends
by D-Hadevir
Summary: This is the story of the unlikely friendship between Josiah Johnston, muggleborn Ravenclaw Prefect and Daniella Hawke, pureblood Slytherin, as they begin their 7th year at Hogwarts, as the Magic world around them starts to fall into Lord Voldemort's rise to power. This story is set one year after the Marauders have left Hogwarts. Rated M for later chapters. Give it a try!
1. Diagon Alley

**Author's Note:** This is a story written as roleplay, between me and a friend, with the pace and flow of roleplaying. We edited nothing of the actual content, it's all as it was written and sent to each other. I only tried to make the difference between authors as obvious as possible, so my apologies for the massive bold parts, but I had no other way of making the shifts clear. Enjoy!

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_**Chapter 1 - Diagon Alley**_

**Josiah Johnston was having a very strange dream. In it, he had been trying to charm a teapot to hum God Save the Queen, but instead, it made a tapping sound. He tried all the counter-spells he knew of, but still it kept tapping, and tapping, and –**

**A disgruntled owl cry tore him abruptly from his sleep, and he sat upright in bed, fumbling around for his wand.**

**"Ah," he mumbled, his voice still coated in sleep, his wand held crookedly in the vague direction of the noise. He lowered it, then looked over at the clock; it was around 10 in the morning. "Wotcher, little fella. Sorry, I forgot to leave the window open."**

**The school owl, looking a bit ruffled, ceased tapping on the window glass and hopped onto Josiah's desk as soon as he allowed it inside. It stuck its leg out regally, and Jo untied his very last school letter, smiling wistfully.**

**The owl took off from the windowsill, leaving the boy to ponder his correspondence in the bright morning light. He plopped back down onto his bed and unfolded the parchment.  
**

**There was no Head Boy badge enclosed, but he couldn't bring himself to feel too unhappy about that. Being a Prefect was honor enough, after all; and considering he was barely squeaking by in Potions, he didn't much need the extra responsibility. Still, he wondered who had been chosen...**

**Examining his list, his expression brightened considerably. He loved any excuse to buy new Charms books.**

**Tucking the letter in his nightshirt pocket, he grabbed his small pouch of Floo powder off of his nightstand and hurried down to the fireplace, hoping he could catch Dan awake.**

* * *

Daniella walked back into the kitchen, Toby following her closely. She stopped at the sight of the owl waiting by the window. She quickly walked over to it and took the letter, letting out a small sigh of relief that Logan hadn't been there to intercept it.

This was (according to him) his last summer at home before moving out. He seemed determined to move in with a few of his roommates from Hogwarts, now that he had returned from his travelling and settled into some boring Ministry job.

She opened the letter and skimmed over the familiar text. She smiled a little at the title of their new Care of Magical Creatures book. She had that one already.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds coming from the fireplace. She looked around once more, making sure she was alone, before walking over to it and kneeling in front of the flames. "Jo?"

* * *

**Josiah grinned sheepishly, although he had been forced to contort into a rather awkward position to get his head into the downstairs fireplace.**

**"Hey," he confirmed, wiggling a little to get more comfortable. "Are we still on for Diagon Alley later today? There was an advert in the Prophet that said Astronomy books were half off when Venus was in the sixth house."**

* * *

Daniella just stared for a brief moment, before deciding she might as well not try to make sense of what that meant. As far as she was concerned, Venus could be dancing with Mars, as long as that meant cheaper school books.

"Yeah, sure!" She pondered that for a moment. Her mother and brother said they wanted to go with her, since he needed to buy some things for his new apartment, but she was sure she could get rid of them… somehow. She heard a noise in the next room. Logan was back. "I'll meet you at Florean's, alright?" She said, trying not to sound too hasty.

* * *

**"Aye, I'll see you there," he said with a lilt, but she was already hurrying away. He attempted to unfold himself from his ambitious position, but all he earned himself was a smart bump on the head and watery eyes. He inhaled sharply at the pain, then sneezed out a fair bit of soot. He exhaled pitifully, wiping his nose with one hand.**

**He pulled on some plain Muggle clothes - his favorite pair of denim and a solid blue t-shirt - and yelled down the hallway to his mother.**

**"Mum! I'm going out!" There was incoherent mumbling in response, and finally, a "What was that, dear?"**

**Josiah, thankful to finally be 17, pointed his wand in the direction of his throat and shouted again.**

**"I'M GOING OUT, MUM!"**

**With that, he trotted back down the stairs, threw a little more of the cursed powder into the crumbling fireplace, with a clear "Diagon Alley!"**

* * *

Daniella tried to sneak back to her room unnoticed. Maybe she would be able to sneak out and Apparate in Diagon Alley before they were-

"Hey, Dany. Where are you going in such a hurry?" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

Dan turned, narrowing her eyes at Logan. "Don't call me that!"

He had always been a handsome boy; he was a handsome man now. He used his dark blond hair short and disheveled; he was tall and broad-shouldered and he had a smile that had melted a lot of girls' hearts already. His dark blue eyes were pretty too, but they were cold and sharp, making her feel like he could see far deeper into her soul than she wanted to.

"Talking to that… boy again?" He asked, the smirk gone from his face. "You really should reconsider your companies, sister."

"I could say the same, brother." She muttered in reply, making her way past him and into her bedroom. "If you and Mother aren't ready in half hour, I'll go by myself," she shouted, climbing up the stairs.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be ready before that," he shouted back, lightly.

* * *

**Josiah had arrived at the ice cream parlor at half past eleven, but Dan was nowhere to be seen. Digging his spoon into the bottom of his sundae in an attempt to scrape out as much hot fudge as possible, he looked around at the afternoon crowd that was starting to gather.**

**Loathe as he was to admit it, Jo didn't feel completely comfortable in Diagon Alley these days. His eyes kept darting back to the Knockturn Alley gate, where pale witches and wizards in sweeping black robes emerged regularly and gave him the shivers. He didn't have to talk to them to know what they would think of him.**

**Pushing these thoughts out of his mind, he pulled out his list and pretended to peruse it with heavy concentration.**

* * *

It took Daniella a good forty minutes after arriving at the Diagon Alley to convince her mother to take Logan for whatever shopping he had to do and let her do her own. Still, she had to agree to letting her buy her new robes for school, especially after a pointed and slightly disgusted look at her jeans and sleeveless top.

She was grateful to Jo for showing her how Muggles dressed, or she might be wearing long robes right now… and the weather was far too delightful for that.

She spotted Jo easily sitting at a table outside. She quickly made her way to him, sitting on the other chair. "Hello, stranger."

* * *

**Jo grinned up at his best friend, licking the last bit of fudge off of his spoon.**

**"'Lo, Miss Clearly-Has-Been-Reading-Muggle-Fashion-Mags. How fares the noble house of Hawke?"**

* * *

"Well, someone has to fight the boredom that is the dressing habits in my house…" She said, more cheerful than she felt. Hopefully, spending the day with Jo would quickly make the day a lot more fun. "Noble," she snorted, "they do try…"

Looking greedily at the remnants of his ice cream, she ordered one for herself. "I can't wait for summer to be over. I've had enough of Logan Hawke for a lifetime. What have you been doing?"

* * *

**He laughed appreciatively at her jokes, hoping that it would make her feel a bit better.**

**"Still a giant prat, then?" He murmured, smiling sympathetically. "I've not been up to much of anything since we talked last; sleeping in, you know. Although last week I put Unbreakable Charms on all the eggs in the fridge. Drove Mum mad." He grinned mischievously. He sipped at his iced tea, savoring it.**

**"No owls from anybody else, then? Any ideas on who Head Boy and Girl are?"**

* * *

Dan laughed at that. "Your poor mom…"

"Well, there's no surprise who the Head Girl will be." She shrugged. "Sabrina was bragging about it on the train." She didn't really care enough to figure out how Sabrina would know so far in advance she would be selected, but it might have something to do with her father being friends with Slughorn. "Dunno about Head Boy, but I hope Marcus is selected."

* * *

**Josiah groaned a little, scrunching up his face and sipping his tea a little more ferociously.**

**"I can't believe Dumbledore gave it to her after all. She's going to feel even more entitled now; absolutely insufferable, I'll bet." He rolled his eyes at this. "Everyone's father is friends with Slughorn, eh? All it takes is a tin of pineapple and you're golden." Six years of struggling through Potions had not given him a great opinion of the man.**

**"Marcus is a fair choice though, for certain. Better him than me, to deal with Sabrina, anyhow." He smiled a small half-smile, not willing to admit that he had daydreamed about the Head Boy badge on his own robes once or twice.**

* * *

Dan sighed. "Mother is still upset that I never attended Slughorn's private parties."

She focused on her ice cream for a while, silent, but eventually looked up at Jo, studying him more closely. "I would rather have you as a Head Boy, but I think Sabrina has something to do with that too. She might push for Greengrass. She's crazy about him. She's tried everything but showing up naked in front of him in the common room… it's a little disgusting, actually."

A movement at the end of the street caught her eye. She pressed her lips together, looking at the woman standing at a distance, looking around. "What's she doing here?" She muttered under her breath. She supposed she should be relieved Logan wasn't with her mother at the moment. More than anything, she hoped her mother wouldn't notice them sitting there.

* * *

**"My mum is still upset that I have a teacher named Slughorn," he confided in Dan. "Just the other week I was telling her about him again, and she said, 'You know, the poor man really ought to have that fixed up. I can't imagine what they think at the insurance office.'"**

**He chuckled sheepishly at her close scrutiny of him, trying to brush it off. "Dumbledore might be a bit mad, Dan, but I don't reckon he's that mad yet, eh?" Following her gaze, he took a quick peek over his shoulder at his friend's mother. He looked back at Dan, giving her a slightly queasy smile.**

* * *

Dan's humour had darkened considerably. Her heart was racing, tension gathering inside her. And then her mother saw her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Jo in advance, feeling mortified already, casting him an apologetic glance as her mother approached their table. "Mother," she said as she looked up, unable to keep the tension out of her voice.

"Daniella," her mother said stiffly, the look in her eyes hardening considerably as she examined Josiah. The silence that followed was heavy with accusation and something else Dan didn't want to label. "And your…" She could see the struggle in her mother's eyes, as she tried to force a few polite words out of her mouth, "classmate. Why are you here? Didn't you have errands to run?"

"His name is Josiah, Mother." Dan felt heat rise to her cheeks. From anger or embarrassment, she couldn't tell, but she couldn't meet Jo's eyes. "We're going to do that later."

* * *

**Josiah had been overjoyed to enter the magical world - he was still overjoyed every single day, as a matter of fact, as he always learned something new - but there were some things that no amount of explanation could have prepared him for. The discrimination had been one of them.**

**Having spent the past 6 years receiving this sort of treatment from Slytherins, and even an occasional member of his own house, Jo had developed a strategy to deal with these types of situations: stay quiet and pretend you don't exist.**

**It still stung every time, of course; he'd liked to have placed an Imperturbable Charm on both his ears, if he had had the time. But he hadn't, and he probably wouldn't have had the nerve anyway. So, he stared pointedly ahead at Dan's ice cream dish, cheeks burning slightly.**

* * *

"Later…" her mother repeated. Daniella closed her eyes, trying to keep it together, trying to Apparate Jo and herself out of there with sheer power of will. "Can I have a quick word with you?"

At that, Daniella opened her eyes and gave her mother an angry look. "There is no need, Mother. I know the speech already. But I am not a child anymore. And I don't care how people look at me and what they think of who I hang out with."

Her mother pressed her lips together tightly, glancing around quickly. "You better not let your father hear you saying those things." She cast Josiah another glance; her lips were now a very thin line on her face. "We'll talk at home. Don't take too long."

Dan kept her mouth firmly shut, until her mother turned around and walked away with all the dignity of a proud, snob pureblood. Dan let out an embarrassed sigh. She still couldn't look Jo in the eyes, so she hid her face behind her hand. "I'm so sorry…"

* * *

**Josiah fiddled with the collar of his t-shirt, pulling it away from his neck self-consciously in an attempt to curb the heat. He watched Dan's mother glide away, with all the sophistication of a true pureblooded witch. It was several moments before he felt comfortable to speak again.**

**"Nah," he murmured finally, grinning at his friend, albeit a little reservedly. "Not your fault. I just hope I'm not making trouble for you at home again." He sighed as he studied his empty tea glass, then squinted once more over the Alley crowd.**

**He pulled out his wand and flipped it around in his hand once absentmindedly. He changed the tea glass from clear to transparent blue with a nonverbal charm, then back again.**

* * *

Dan shrugged. "No more trouble than usual." She chanced a look up at him. "And it's worth it. I just wish I- nevermind." She peeked into the glass. "I see you've been practicing."

* * *

**Jo raised his eyebrows at her abrupt silence, but didn't push the matter. It was surely difficult for her; he couldn't imagine disagreeing with his family on a matter so important. He chuckled, setting his wand on the table instead.**

**"You know how I like my color-changing charms. I turned Dilly red the other night, but he didn't fancy it much, so I changed him back."**

* * *

Dan pushed the rest of the ice cream aside and focused on her tea. It was a lovely summer day and she was with her best friend. She didn't want to think about anything depressing today. She would have plenty of time for that.

She huffed out a laugh, allowing herself to relax a little. He was definitely worth the trouble. She raised her glass. "Cheers to Professor Slughorn. Despite his name, he was thoughtful enough to put us together, all those years ago. Wasn't that nice of him?"

* * *

**"Aye," Josiah murmured with a lopsided grin, using his wand to funnel a bit of water into his glass. Then, he held it up to hers. "And it's the only time I'm going to cheer him, that's for certain." He drained the water, feeling a bit lighter at heart.**

**"Oh, mum wanted me to ask you if you were free at all this summer. Just to visit for a day or two, you know. She said it was practically criminal that they keep you locked up in that house all the time, but mostly I just think she misses you…"**

* * *

"Well, I am officially an adult now, so I can go wherever I want to."

Of course it wasn't that simple… not with her family. But the thought of spending the rest of the summer at home made her want to run away. And that, in turn, made her feel bad. They weren't bad people. If only she could make them understand…

"I would love to go," she said, smiling. "My brother should be moving out in a couple weeks, at most. It'll be easier after that, at least I won't have him nagging me all the time."

She finished her tea. "Should we get going? The bookstore will be crowded if we take too long."

* * *

**Josiah's eyes widened at this realization, and he stowed his wand into his pocket hurriedly.**

**"Don't think poorly of me, but if there aren't any copies of '1001 Household Charms to Impress your Guests' left, I'll hex somebody."**

* * *

Dan chuckled, fiddling with the coins she had found in her pocket that morning and dropping a few on the table. "I'll gladly give you mine, if you want. I'd probably learn more from you than any Charms book, anyway."

She rose and looked around, studying the busy street. "I also need some ingredients for my potions kit, but we can get that later. The bookstore is closer."

* * *

**"How do you always have every book?" Jo whined to his friend, pushing open the door to Flourish and Blotts. "I have, like, 22 galleons left."**

**The bookstore was busy, just like Dan had predicted it would be. He inhaled the scent of new paper, and the Ravenclaw inside of him celebrated.**

**"Ah!" He exclaimed, rushing quickly to the display of Astronomy books. "Agrippa's sake! There's only one left." He tucked a red book titled 'Charming Astronomy: Simple Spells to Make Your Stargazing More Pleasant and Productive' under his arm. He heaved out a relieved sigh, hugging it protectively to his chest as people walked by.**

* * *

"We have a big library at home," Dan explained. "Well, big for me, you'd probably think otherwise." She had never read a lot of the books in her father's library, except the ones related to animals or adventures. And she was the only one reading those, at home.

Dan eyed the book he held so tightly with amusement. "Ah, I missed watching you around books. It's never boring!" She took the letter from Hogwarts out of her pocket and checked the book list. "Most of our classes will require two books this year. We're not going to have much time to chill, are we?"

* * *

**"I know that. It was a rhetorical question," Josiah mumbled, nudging her with his elbow and then grinning. He proceeded to pick a few more books up from the display, then turned around and squinted at the rest of the shelves.**

**"Yeah, even Potions," he said drearily, as though he thought buying two Potions books was a complete waste of the few galleons he had left. "I didn't think Sluggy would find a way to torture me any more than he did last year, but that shows what I know."**

* * *

"I'm still amazed you didn't ditch Potions," Dan said. "I'm glad I don't have to set foot in another Astronomy class ever again."

She couldn't reach the top shelf, so she summoned the book she needed. "I think we'll be doing a lot of extra work in Potions this year, and most of it will be group work. At least we'll have more variety of potions to choose from. Some should be fun to create," she mused.

She found herself quickly struggling to keep the pile of books she would need balanced on her arms as a tiny kid pushed her to reach for the shelves as well. "First year students…" she muttered, rolling her eyes. "They really should make sets of these books for Hogwarts students. It would make everyone's life a lot easier."

* * *

**"I would have, but you can't drop Potions if you go into Healing – you have to at least be able to make a headache potion, and even that's NEWT level." He furrowed his brow a bit, giving his sternest Prefect look to the pushy first year.**

**"Good, I like group work. I can be the designated stirrer. I'm tops at stirring," he said sarcastically, grinning as he rolled his eyes toward the vaulted ceiling. "Can't make it too easy, can they? Got to keep us on our toes, and all."**

* * *

"Studying is boring enough as it is. Making it more difficult won't make me any more eager to do it." Watching the kid stumble away with books up to his chin, she added teasingly, "Don't look at him that way, he looks like a future Ravenclaw."

"Deal!" She offered him a smirk, looking at his pile of books. "I think I've got all of them. Are you done?"

* * *

**Josiah looked mockingly offended, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth.**

**"I'll have you know I never pushed people that way when I was a first year, not even for Charms books," he said airily, making his way over to the counter behind the tottering boy. "Looks like a Slytherin to me."**

**He stood patiently in line, perusing the shelves of trinkets and sweets that were laid out in front of the register. He couldn't stop himself from plucking a Sugar Quill out of a nearby box; they were more expensive than they were in Hogsmeade, but he hadn't had one all summer, after all….**

* * *

Dan huffed and lowered her voice. "If he ends up in Slytherin, he'll be taught to push only people smaller than him soon enough. But I don't think he'll find a lot of kids even shorter than him for a while…" she said sarcastically.

It seemed to take a long time for the line to move, but eventually they got out of the bookstore. "So, what else do you need to buy other than sweets?"

* * *

**Jo snorted as they left the bookstore, unwrapping the sugar quill and sticking it into his mouth happily. He flushed a little at her comment, then bit off a piece of the candy with a muted crunch.**

**"There's no Muggle sweet that can compare with a sugar quill," he said pitifully, returning it to his mouth. "I promised mum I'd buy Pearl a fake wand so that she'd stop waving the fire poker around trying to be magic," he said solemnly. "But I also need Potions ingredients."**

* * *

Dan laughed with pleasure at that. "Please, let me buy it for her. She's sweet and I feel bad that I can never figure out what would be appropriate to offer her on her birthdays… Muggle toys are confusing." She furrowed her brow at the memory of the toys they'd shown her before.

They got the potions ingredients first. That store was far less busy than the bookstore had been, so they didn't take long in there.

Dan hadn't had the chance to enter the joke store in a long time, but it had always been one of her favorites.

* * *

**"That's because Muggles have to do things the hard way," he grinned, pushing open the door to the joke shop. He ducked as a giant farting boomerang flew by his head. Some things never got old….**

**"Just don't pick a chicken one," he murmured, flicking one that turned into a limp, plucked chicken. "She's going through some kind of vegetarian phase. I think she might be upset."**

* * *

"She is? Good thing she doesn't go to Hogwarts, then. I don't think there are a lot of meal options without meat in them." She looked over at the large box with a bunch of fake wands.

The shop owners hadn't tagged them, so the only way to figure out what they turned into was trying them. "Maybe there's one that turns into a carrot…" She picked one up and flicked it. It turned into a quill. "This might take some time…" she murmured.

* * *

**Josiah grinned sheepishly, then began testing the wands out with her. The second one he tried turned into gelatin, and he began to question the practicality of fake wands, period.**

**"Dad was all up in arms about it. She got a pet goldfish at the beginning of the summer, you see, and then she stopped eating fish all together. Then dad told her eating a fish wasn't any worse than eating a chicken or a cow, so now she doesn't eat meat at all." He pursed his lips to keep from laughing at the thought, swishing a few more wands.**

**"This one's celery; that might be the closest thing to a carrot we're going to find, aye?"**

* * *

Dan stopped waving wands and stared at Jo for a moment, blinking. "Mm…" she ended up saying noncommittally. "Yeah, I can see how that went. At least she didn't get a cow pet… right?" She said teasingly.

"Yes, that's a good one." She took the fake wand and tucked it in one of the gift boxes piled up against the closest wall. "I'll give it to her when I visit, so don't tell her yet."

* * *

**Jo grinned, wiggling the gelatin wand until it returned to its solid state. "My lips are sealed, don't worry."**

**He held up his arm and examined his Muggle watch. "Nearly an hour past noon, now," he murmured, looking over his shoulder as though someone would come in and drag them away from each other. "You don't think your mum will… worry?" He didn't think worry was quite the word he was looking for, but it was the closest he could think of at the moment.**

* * *

Dan put the box away with the rest of her purchases and brushed her hair behind her ear. "She's been worrying all morning, anyway." She tried to say it lightly, but she couldn't help feeling tense again, mostly because of Logan.

He hadn't been with their mother before. That probably meant he had met some of his _friends_. If he bumped into Dan and Jo while with them… She searched the street, half expecting to find them turning the corner, but there was no one familiar in sight. "I probably should go home soon, though," she admitted unwillingly.

* * *

**Josiah nodded silently, signifying his acknowledgement of her situation.**

**"That will give me some time to start a few of these books," he murmured, giving her a lopsided smile. He hoped it would make her feel better.**

**"Make sure you owl me to say when you can come; mum will have a fit if she doesn't have time to clean beforehand. Or, rather, make me clean beforehand," he mumbled, motioning to his wand.**

**Scratching his scalp, he figured that he was out of things to say for now.**

**"Well, I'll see you, Dan, aye?"**

* * *

Dan offered a small smile. "Yeah, well, do try to leave some learning to do at Hogwarts, alright?" She pulled him closer for a tight hug. "Sorry again…" She whispered, before letting go.

"It's a good thing you're good at charms, then. I'll send an owl as soon as possible, so your mother doesn't have to worry about it. Be safe, Jo!"


	2. Dangerous Visit

_**Chapter 2 - Dangerous Visit**_

**"She doesn't care if the coffee table is polished or not, mum," Josiah mumbled with exasperation, pointing his wand at a large wad of dust behind the television set. "She's a witch, not the Queen of England."**

**"I bet all the tables in her house are polished proper!" Came his mother's voice, which preceded her into the living room. She was carrying a large and rather tacky basket of frayed, pink silk flowers. Jo grimaced, then sighed heavily.**

**"At least you could pick out ones that match," he said under his breath, flicking his wand and turning the flowers a light periwinkle color. His mother grinned broadly, grabbing him suddenly and giving him a big kiss on the cheek.**

**"My JoJo," she gushed, ruffling his hair. He closed his eyes in defense, giving her an embarrassed half-smile. "We are so proud of you."**

**Josiah cleared his throat, trying not to betray the emotion that was clogging it. "Thanks, mum."**

* * *

Dan Apparated in an empty alley in Stonehaven, Aberdeen, as recommended by Jo. She looked around anxiously, partly because she was afraid to be spotted by passing Muggles, mostly because she fully expected to see her brother – or worse, her father – coming after her.

But she was here now, and she quickly made her way to Jo's house, a cosy little building with a variety of well tended flowers hanging from the windows. A small smile curved her lips and, after another look over her shoulder to make sure she was alone, she allowed herself to relax and enjoy the moment.

Closing her hand more tightly around the handle of her small suitcase, she covered the ground separating her from the front door and gave a few shy knocks.

* * *

**Jo looked up abruptly from his cleaning when he heard the knock on the door. Stuffing his wand into the back pocket of his shorts, he called out, "I've got it!"**

**He pulled open the door with a bit of difficulty, as the frame had settled with the house. Seeing Daniella standing there, he grinned widely and motioned her inside.**

**"Hey," he said, grabbing his wand and pointing it at her luggage. "Locomotor suitcase." The suitcase hovered in midair, and Jo set it to rest in the hallway in front of the stairs. "Let me know if you get too warm; our air-con's out, so I've been using a Cooling Charm every few hours." He realized this wasn't really the proper way to greet a guest, so he straightened up and ruffled his hair sheepishly.**

**"Good trip, then?"**

* * *

"Hey," Dan replied, grinning in return, but the grin wavered as she tried to recall what '_air-con_' was. "Yeah, nobody saw me." She looked over his shoulder, further into the house. "So, how is everything around here? Your mother hasn't been working too hard because of me, has she?"

* * *

**"It's a big machine in the walls that takes the air… and…" Josiah trailed off, making a vague hand motion that sent a few sparks out of the end of his wand. He hurriedly put it back into his pocket. "…just let me know if you get too warm," he finished, puffing his rosy cheeks out in a deep exhale.**

**"Is that our guest of honor?!" Came a shrill cry from the kitchen, and Jo's mother came rushing in, arms outstretched, nearly tripping on the rug on her way to Dan. "It's been so long, dear! Far, far too long! Tell me you've been well!"**

**"Dan? DAN!" Came another, younger voice, and Josiah was suddenly crowded out of the circle by both his mother and his younger sister, Pearl.**

**"Let her catch her breath, hey?" Josiah murmured, both amused and embarrassed.**

* * *

Dan slipped an arm around Jo in a quick squeeze, huffing out a chuckle. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

She turned at the sound of his mother's voice, offering the older woman a warm smile as she was pulled into another hug. "I've been great, thank you!"

"Hey, precious Pearl!" She teased when she was freed from a pair of arms only to be squeezed again by much younger arms. "I missed you! And look, I got you something." She took her wand out of her jacket's inner pocket and summoned the gift box from her suitcase, floating it in front of Jo's little sister.

* * *

**Pearl let out a delighted squeal as she grabbed at the gift box floating in front of her.**

**"What is it?! Is it magical?!" She ripped the paper off of the box and slid it open to reveal the fake wand, and her small mouth formed a perfect, shocked 'o'.**

**"You should try waving it," Josiah added helpfully, and Pearl looked from her brother to Dan with wide, eager eyes. She held it in one small, delicate hand and gave it a well-practiced swish.**

**"Whoa!" She exclaimed, squinting at the stalk of celery she now held instead. There were a few moments of silence, then she erupted into giggles. "I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Thank you Dan, thank you thank you so much!"**

* * *

Dan laughed with the girl's excitement. Ruffling her hair teasingly, she attempted a serious face, ruined slightly by the smirk on her lips. "I'm glad you like it, but you need to be careful. You know how Jo couldn't do magic at home all these years? You can't show your new wand to anyone, alright?"

Resting a hand on Pearl's shoulder, she looked back at Jo's mother. "Thank you for having me. I hope it's not too much trouble."

* * *

**"Oh, no, love, it's no trouble at all! Pearl and June have friends over all the time, but Jo… well, you know, most magical folk don't feel very comfortable just showing up on the doorstep of a Muggle house like ours these days!" She let out a strained laugh, patting Pearl on her other shoulder.**

**"Pea, why don't you run along and put that in your drawer with all the nice things you have from Jo? I'm sure Dan's had a long trip. You can talk to her more at dinner."**

**Josiah took this as the cue to take out his wand and pick up Dan's suitcase again and begin leading it up the stairs.**

* * *

Dan looked away at those words, not wasting time before following Jo up the stairs. Maybe it was selfish, but she hoped Jo hadn't told his parents about what had happened in Diagon Alley. They always treated her so nicely, she didn't want to disappoint them.

"I love the smell of your house," she said, quite suddenly, surprising even herself. She almost hoped he hadn't heard.

* * *

**Josiah turned around a little in the cramped staircase at her confession, then took several deep, pointed sniffs.**

**"Huh," he said, grinning. "I guess I'm too used to it to notice. What's it smell like to you?" He pushed open the door to June's room with his foot and set her suitcase on the bed with a soft thump.**

**"Mum said you can use June's room, since it's more 'comfortable for a woman' or something," he informed her, scratching his scalp. "Sorry, I didn't have the heart to tell her you don't really fancy pink."**

* * *

Daniella shrugged, breathing in deeply. "It smells of salt and wood and… cake. It always smells of something delicious when I come. I would be so fat if I lived here!"

She entered June's bedroom and looked around a bit sheepishly, but smiled at his last comment. "It won't be a problem. I'll be very comfortable here. Are you sure June won't mind?"

* * *

**"I would be too, if I stayed here all year round," he mumbled, laughing. "Nah, June won't be fussed about it. She away at uni, and won't be home until Christmas."**

**He stretched and yawned a little; he was stiff from cleaning all day.**

**"We can hang out in my room until dinner, though. Or we could go down to the water, if you like. It shouldn't be crowded at this hour."**

* * *

"I'd like to go out! And you can tell me what's new in your life!" Dan said lightly, moving to the door. She stopped and took a better look at him. "You look tired… What have you been up to?"

* * *

**Josiah chuckled at this, not able to help himself.**

**"Charming the silk flowers to match the carpet," he said sarcastically. "And various other household '_necessities_.'" He led the way back down the staircase, pausing in front of the door to call out, "We're going down to the harbor, mum!"**

* * *

"And you went through all that work for me," Dan teased, leaving the house after him. "Such a dedicated friend I've got!"

She had always thought it was impossible to be in a bad mood in a place like Stonehaven. The harbor, the boats, the people… everything there was nice,carefree and easy going. "Is your father out fishing?"

* * *

**Jo laughed good-naturedly, inhaling the warm, watery air.**

**"Aye, until sunset," he confirmed, squinting out over the water, although his father's ship was nowhere in sight. It was a quick walk down to the pier, and he sat down on the edge, his bare feet barely skimming the water.**

**"Did they give you trouble about coming?"**

* * *

Daniella didn't answer immediately. She took her time taking off her sandals and sitting next to Jo, looking away from him. But he had asked.

"They… think I'm somewhere else," she answered in a low voice.

* * *

**Josiah made a contemplative noise in the back of his throat, leaning back and closing his eyes against the sunlight.**

**"Well, after this year, we'll be out on our own, hey? We can hang out whenever we want."**

* * *

Dan pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. "I can't wait! Not sure my parents will let me off the hook quite that easily, but I'll figure out what to do when the time comes."

She rested the side of her face on her knee to look down at him curiously. "Where do you want to go and can't yet?"

* * *

**Jo snorted, opening one eye to look back at her.**

**"Is this a trick question?" He asked, sighing a little. "I dunno. I guess it's not as much somewhere I want to go as… you know, things I want to do." He flushed a little at this thought as a particular face flashed into his mind.**

* * *

Daniella's dark eyes narrowed slightly. "It'll definitely be easier to do whatever we want, then. But we'll need to find jobs first."

* * *

**"I dunno – I've heard the entrance tests are tough for St. Mungo's, but I really, really want to be a Healer, and that's the best place to be. You know?"**

**Several seagulls flew overhead, crying loudly. The sun was beginning to set, and the reflections on the water changed from blinding, sparkling white to a fiery orange.**

* * *

"I know you'll make it. You're smart enough and determined enough to do it." She shifted her gaze back to the sunset. It left her a little breathless to see something so beautiful. Magical on its own, and available equally for everyone, wizards and Muggles.

Her thoughts wandered to the career pamphlets she'd been studying since the previous school year. She still wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but she had wanted to keep her options open. She knew what her parents wanted her to do. But that was not the future she wanted for herself.

"Plus, if you can't make it into St. Mungus, then there's definitely no hope for me anywhere," she added in a lower voice, as if to not disturb the sunset.

* * *

**Josiah flushed at the compliment, giving his friend a small half-smile.**

**"We'll both make it," he said confidently, before a puttering sound in the distance broke his concentration. "Ah, that'll be dad, then." He squinted at the tiny boat skipping along the water towards them, and waved one arm lazily in its direction.**

* * *

"We better, or life will be boring after Hogwarts…" Dan said. She looked over in the direction of the sound.

The shape of the boat outlined up against the sunset, grew bigger as the noise became louder. At times like this it was easier to imagine how overwhelmed Jo must have been when he first went to Hogwarts. Probably as much as she'd felt when she visited him the first time. But at least she had spent enough time in the Muggle world to not look embarrassingly lost all the time.

"So, we're having fish tonight…" She commented, thinking of Pearl. "Well, most of us."

* * *

**"Nah, we're not," Jo told her, grinning still. "We have fish all the time; mum said it's a special occasion, so we're having roast tonight instead." He paused. "Most of us."**

**The boat pulled up to the dock and the engine turned over slowly a few times before coming to a complete stop. Josiah's father emerged from below deck, dressed from head to toe in a denim ensemble with a bright red hat that covered his messy, dark blond hair.**

**Jo's dad was a stocky, muscular man, with a constantly red complexion that evidenced how much time he spent out on the water. He grinned at the teenagers, exposing some white (albeit slightly crooked) teeth, and called out to them.**

**"Wotcher, you two! Staying out of trouble, I hope?" Jo gave his dad an uncertain half-smile as he watched the older man fuss with the rope on the deck.**

**"Don't suppose you could, Jo…" he mumbled out of the side of his mouth, still grinning sheepishly. Jo pulled out his wand and the rope tied itself neatly to the dock. "Atta boy. Wonderful son, you are."**

* * *

Daniella rose to her feet to greet Jo's father and to peek into the boat. One of the things on her bucket list was succeed in using those instruments to catch a fish.

"Hello!" She grinned. "Did you catch anything interesting today?"

* * *

**"Aye, I surely did," Cole replied proudly, directing her attention to a wiggling sack behind the large stack of fish. "Found a big fat eel, I did. Seems he's far away from home, dunnit?" Josiah peeked over at the eel, which was wriggling madly, and wrinkled his nose.**

**"What are you going to do with it?" He asked, looking up at his father. "You're not going to make us eat it, are you?"**

* * *

Daniella eyed the eel with a mix of disgust and fascination. She liked odd looking animals, true, but she had no desire of eating that thing. "I might just become a vegetarian as well…" She murmured, so only Jo could hear it.

"Well, we have a roast waiting for us, right?" She asked lightly, out loud.

* * *

**"Thankfully," Josiah said jokingly, turning away from the boat and heading towards the small beach at the head of the pier. They all walked back towards the small row of houses together; it might have been Jo's imagination, but he thought he could smell roast already. He had forgotten how hungry he was.**

* * *

...

* * *

It didn't take Logan as long as he'd thought to find the place. He turned his nose at the strong smells of salt and oil at the pier. It was difficult to figure out which house his sister was in either. He could see her with _those_ people at the table, eating with them, laughing with them.

Anger and jealousy bubbled up inside him. It took effort to keep from barging in there and dragging her out, teaching those nosy Muggles a lesson. But that wouldn't solve anything. Dany still had another year at Hogwarts, close to that Mudblood kid.

He had to go to the source of the problem. If he couldn't get her away from him, he would have a little chat with him instead. Having made up his mind, he allowed himself a lopsided smile and settled around the corner to wait until it was dark.

An hour later, the street was desert, everyone having gone home already, so no one saw him approach the pitiful house and take out his wand. He placed a Disillusionment Charm over himself, then reached for the first window at the back, unlocking it with a lazy flick of his wand. He silently made his way inside.

It wasn't the first time he broke into a house, even if that wasn't common knowledge. Muggles were so easy to fool, it was ridiculous! Everyone was still gathered on the other side of the house, oblivious to the intrusion, so he climbed up the stairs, snuck into the only bedroom that was clearly a boy's room and waited.

* * *

**Josiah pushed his plate toward the center of the table, stretching his arms out to the sides and leaning back slightly in his chair. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten a dinner that big at home. It had probably cost his mum a fortune; he wondered if she had chipped into her emergency savings to pay for it.**

**Drawing his mind away from this uncomfortable thought, he grinned around at his family and best friend, murmuring, "S'pose I'll put on my pajamas, then I'll be back down."**

**He walked up the stairs, carefree and content. He threw open his door unceremoniously and flicked on the light. He knew something was wrong as soon as he took the first step; he fumbled quickly for his wand, finally getting a shaky grip on it and pointing it uncertainly in several directions.**

* * *

Logan's smirk became smug at the sight of Josiah. And alone, as he had hoped for. Such a helpful boy. His low chuckle filled the room as he took down his Disillusionment Charm, showing himself.

"Careful not to poke yourself with that… _Josiah_," he mocked, his voice filled with disdain as he pronounced the Mudblood's name.

* * *

**"I… that's not even…" Josiah began in a strangled whisper in two pitches higher than normal. He then wondered briefly to himself why he was whispering; it was HIS house, after all. "What are you doing here?" He tried to sound authoritative.**

* * *

"I was looking for you." Logan took a step closer to Josiah. "You see, you took something from me. Or rather, someone." He took another step, raising his hand, wand pointed at Josiah's chest, enjoying the fear in the boy's eyes. "I've come to take her back. And to warn you."

* * *

**Jo gripped his wand so tightly that his knuckles paled, and several hot, gold sparks crackled out of the end involuntarily.**

**"I'm a wizard proper, Logan, same as you. And I'm not going to let you d-do anything to Dan, do you hear? She has… she has dreams and hopes and things, and I won't let you lot ruin her life s-smothering her all the time, so…."**

* * *

Logan raised his eyebrows for a moment, amused, then his chuckle grew a little louder. "So feisty," he mocked. "So… what?" The smirk vanished abruptly, his expression hardened. "How dare you compare yourself to me?! What do you think you can possibly do against _me_?"

He took one last step that placed his wand only a few inches away from Josiah's chest. "I'm not here to debate what's best for _my_ sister with you. I am her brother and you… you are _nothing_."

* * *

**The Ravenclaw in Josiah was calculating the pros and cons of this situation faster than Hagrid the Gamekeeper could inhale a plate full of food at dinner. He grit his teeth; Logan was older, more experienced, and more confident than he was. The odds were not in his favor.**

**"Say what you have to say and get out," he said softly, lowering his wand.**

* * *

Logan watched him lower his hand. His own didn't move an inch. "Oh, it's very simple. These are dangerous times, you do not want to mess with the wrong people. Tread very softly, boy, or I might have to show you a few of the spells I've learned recently."

He let the silence linger for a long moment. "I want you as far from my sister as Hogwarts will let you be. I won't take her today, but you will tell her you don't want to be with her ever again and you will send her back home first thing in the morning." His voice became more menacing. "I really don't want to have a reason to come to this stinking place again."

He gave Josiah one last hard look, then quietly turned around and made his way out of the room, down the stairs.

* * *

**Josiah could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage a million times per minute. The fear that had overcome him earlier turned to adrenaline as he saw Logan approach the downstairs corridor. Approach his family.**

**He held out his wand again, determined to do something, anything, to protect his family. He shouted a nonverbal incantation inside of his mind and received… sparks. Received nothing.**

**Logan's footsteps faded softly down the corridor and Josiah's cheeks burned horribly as he thought of what he could possibly say to anyone else.**

* * *

Logan made his way down the stairs, setting the Charm over himself once more, then stopped just outside of the room where everyone else was gathered. His lips curled in disgust at the sight of Daniella among those people. It pained him to see her smiling like that and not realizing how much danger she was putting herself in by hanging out with _that kind._

Still, he resisted the urge to take her right now by the ear. She would just turn against him. Better let the Muggles throw her out and be home when she got there, to welcome her. She would see things more clearly, with time.

Dany moved then, suddenly, her dark eyes turning in his direction. Logan froze for a moment, wondering if she had seen him, but then the moment passed. He slipped out of the house.

* * *

**Jo, hands shaking violently, tried to get a good grip on his wand and summon his pajamas from their place in his closet. There was a loud bang, and he jumped nearly a mile high. Everyone downstairs had definitely heard that.**

**Tears welling up in his eyes, he rushed over to his closet to retrieve his clothes manually; he stopped, however, when he heard something rustling behind his school robes. Wand still outstretched, he lifted up the corner of one robe cautiously and then jumped back at the sight of a pair of inquisitive eyes.**

**He had turned his pajamas into a chicken.**

* * *

Daniella's gaze shifted to the entrance, but she dismissed the strange feeling in her chest; she didn't want to look like she wasn't paying attention to the conversation. But Jo was taking too long, wasn't-

Everyone fell quiet at the same time at the unexpected bang, all heads turning up to the ceiling, as if they could see through it. She couldn't dismiss that feeling anymore. She offered everyone a weak smile. "Jo's probably experimenting something he shouldn't be yet… I'll check on him, don't worry."

With that, she excused herself and quickly made her way up the stairs and to his room. "Jo?" She called, approaching the open door cautiously. Jo was standing in front of his closet, staring at… was that a-

"Jo, what are you up to?"

* * *

**Jo wiped his eyes on the back of his arm, plopping down on his bed.**

**"Waiting for my pajamas to lay eggs," he mumbled, somewhat bitterly.**

* * *

Daniella pressed her lips together at the unhelpful reply, then stared at the chicken, trying to figure out what had happened. But Jo was crying, so she stepped into the room and sat next to him on the bed. "Jo, what happened? What's wrong?" She asked in a low, worried voice.

* * *

**The chicken poked its head out of the closet and began cautiously scratching at Jo's carpet. "_Petrificus Totalus_," he murmured, and the chicken fell over with a twitch. "Mum just replaced that carpet last autumn; she'd have my head on a plate."**

**Taking a deep breath, he looked seriously into Dan's eyes. He kept hearing Logan's words in his head over and over again, but he couldn't just turn his back on his friend like that.**

**"You have to leave tomorrow," he said quietly, looking stern. "Your brother came. He said he would let you stay tonight, as long as I made you leave tomorrow." He didn't want to wait for her angry reaction.**

**"But I have an idea, and I'm going to need your help."**

* * *

Watching the poor chicken fall over made a giggle bubble up inside Dan, but his words drained it away along with all the blood in her face. "He what?" she mumbled weakly. "No… He- He doesn't know…" Logan wouldn't do that… _would he_?

She shot out of the bed. "Would '_let me_'? How dared he-?" Too many thoughts crossed her mind and she couldn't pause long enough to focus on any of them. She shook her head. "I'm going to _kill him_!" She closed her hands into fists and started pacing restlessly.

She turned to Jo, then, and her thoughts shifted to him and his family. This was all her fault; her responsibility. She'd put them in danger coming here like that. She opened her mouth, but the words got stuck. She tried again. "I'll go. I'll go…" She sat on the edge of the bed. "I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jo…"

* * *

**"You can't leave now," Josiah said firmly; it wasn't a suggestion. "If you leave now, he'll know that I told you. He can't know that I told you." He furrowed his brows in thought. Rowena Ravenclaw would have been proud in that moment, he figured.**

**"All he said was that I had to stay far away from you. It doesn't mean we can't talk. We just have to know – to know who is keeping an eye on us. I'll need your help for that. And we'll need a way to communicate that doesn't involve owls or Floo. Preferably instant." The wheels in his mind began to turn; the chicken's eyes looked around the room pitifully.**

* * *

Daniella looked away. It seemed like everyone was going to have a say on what she had to do, except her. "So, I'm supposed to look at him tomorrow and-" The words got stuck again, but she couldn't find the energy to oppose Josiah. She'd caused enough problems as it was. "…And pretend."

She looked at the chicken, popped out of who knows where, stuck in a petrified body, and a surge of pity overwhelmed her. She knew exactly how the poor animal felt. She held her wand, aiming at the chicken. "_Finite Incantatem,_" she whispered.

Then, she managed to grab the animal, walked out of the room, down the stairs and gave it to Pearl, telling the girl it was a gift.

When she came back upstairs, she said, "I know who his friends are in Hogwarts," she said quietly. "But if we can't talk and we can't send owls… I don't have access to one of those phone things…"

* * *

**"I don't think you'd have a place to hook up a telephone in Hogwarts anyhow," Josiah mused, the gears in his mind turning at full force. He barely noticed the missing chicken or his friend's growing unease. "I've been perfecting my Protean Charms." The silence after this statement disappointed Jo a bit.**

**"Wait here a tick."**

* * *

Daniella stared blankly at him for a minute. Did he really mean... "Protean…?" But he was far too into whatever idea he was working on for her to stop him now.

She dropped herself to the ground, sitting against the side of his bed. No matter how he phrased it, it sounded like they wouldn't be able to see each other anymore. And he wouldn't let her do anything about it. "What exactly do you have in mind?" She asked when he returned.

* * *

**Josiah returned to the room with a Muggle notebook in each hand. He looked at his friend blankly.**

**"Did you even crack open this year's Charms book?" He asked with a mumble, laying the notebooks side-by-side on the bed.**

**He had obviously gotten them from his little sister; they were both a startling shade of pink. He tapped them both with his wand and turned them a more conservative black color.**

**"The Protean Charm, also known as the item-linking charm," Jo said definitively. "Meaning we don't have to be seen with each other to talk to each other."**

* * *

Daniella simply raised an eyebrow at his question. "When have I ever done that before?" To Charm's books, anyway. She'd read her Care of Magical Creatures and taken a good look at her Potions books.

"Oh, I've definitely heard of that before…" She looked from the notebooks back to Josiah, trying to offer him an encouraging smile. She looked back down at the wand she still held, twirling it between her fingers. "If we can still talk, that's alright."

* * *

**"You thought I would be this calm if I thought we wouldn't still be able to talk?" Jo said in his melodic Scottish lilt, giving her a pointed look. He pulled out his own wand, looking at both notebooks with fierce concentration, then waving it over them slowly. They glowed yellow-orange for a moment, as though hot, then returned to normal.**

**"Okay," he pulled a self-inking quill out of his nearby schoolbag. "Write something in yours."**

* * *

Taking one of the notebooks and the quill, Daniella opened it and looked at the blank page for a moment, then wrote, "Logan's a big pile of dragon poop!"

Then she gave Josiah an expectant look.

* * *

**Josiah opened his own notebook, staring intently at the first page; his face was blank for several moments after Dan's writing had shown up. He cleared his throat, trying not to laugh.**

**"I think it's working," he said solemnly, then his façade broke and he began to giggle silently.**

* * *

Daniella closed her notebook. "Good. I wouldn't want my insults to go unnoticed," she said too seriously.

She sighed, resigned. "For how long do you want us to do this? Hogwarts will bore me to tears if we can't hang out."

* * *

**Josiah shifted a little uncomfortably, laying back on his pillow and giving the ceiling a good stare.**

**"I don't know, I'll… have to think about it longer. I mean, you know… my family… and…." These new thoughts were beginning to make him positively miserable. Logan was definitely a big pile of dragon poop.**

* * *

Daniella shifted closer to him and rested her head on his leg, wondering when they would have another chance to actually spend time together. She would miss him, no matter how much they wrote to each other.

"I have no intention of hurting your family in any way," she said. "But I'll do some brainstorming on my own. There's no way I'm going to let my brother decide what I do or with whom I hang out. All we need to do is find his spy and stop him from being nosy, right?"

* * *

**"Right," Josiah confirmed, trying to let her words comfort him. He was still lost in thought, though, and upset with himself for not thinking of any better solutions.**

**"Well, we have tonight, anyway," he said with a small grin. "We ought not spend it moping about, hey?"**

* * *

Daniella didn't answer for a while, sorting through her memories, chasing a sneaky thought that had crossed her mind. "I know his friends. They're all Slytherin. I could give them a potion of some sort," she mused, more amused with the thought than she would let him know. "But that's a short-term solution... I could use some spell, maybe," she continued, waving her wand off-mindedly, gazing at the random sparkles she created.

* * *

**Josiah pondered this for a while, slightly uncomfortable at the thought of slipping someone a potion. Admittedly, though, his ideas weren't any better.**

**"That could work," he conceded. "I was thinking about doing about a Memory Charm, but that could get me expelled if anybody found out…." He curled the edge of the paper on his notebook absentmindedly.**

* * *

Daniella narrowed her eyes. A Memory Charm might work. At least until she figured out a better way to keep the spy quiet. And that might not take long; Logan's old gang wasn't known for following the rules very often, maybe she could use that to her advantage.

"Teach me." Daniella looked up at Josiah. It wasn't a request. "_I'll_ do it. I have easier access in Slytherin's common room." _And it's my responsibility_, she thought to herself.


	3. In The Train

_**Chapter 3 - In The Train**_

Logan joined his father in the living room, Firewhiskey glass in his hand. His father was already sitting on his favorite chair, reading the Daily Prophet. Smiling inwardly, since he already knew what was on the newspaper, Logan sprawled himself lazily on the chair next to his father's.

He could listen to his mother on the kitchen, still; Daniella was upstairs in her bedroom, sulking, and that mood had lasted since she'd come back home. That made his mood improve a little more. That was a good sign, as far as he was concerned. Maybe the Mudblood had some common sense, after all...

A low chuckle interrupted his thoughts. Logan looked up at this father, as he shook his head at the Prophet. "Anything interesting?" He asked his father.

"More Dementors in Azkaban," was his father's reply. "As if that will help them. They still have no idea who's behind those attacks last week. I'm telling you, son, things are starting to change." The older man looked up at Logan with a stern look in his eyes. "And I certainly hope you've been paying close attention to whom you will befriend at your new job in the Ministry. It's all about making the right connections now."

The corners of Logan's lips curved upwards, his eyes twinkling. If only his father knew... "Oh, I'm quite aware, father. Trust me."

Mr. Hawke snorted humourlessly. "Trust you?! Hmm. We'll see about that."

Logan's expression hardened. He burned with desire to tell him, but he held his tongue. He clenched his teeth and stared at his glass instead. He would see! And then he wouldn't belittle him anymore. _Just you wait and see!_, he thought.

Knowing it would be useless to expect his father's approval, which rarely came anyway, Logan finished his drink in one large, nearly tear-inducing, fiery gulp and stood up.

"Are you going out again?" His father asked in that disapproving tone he seemed to reserve only for his children.

"Maybe," Logan replied lowly, walking out of the living room. When he reached the top of the stairs, he didn't go to his room, though. Instead, he turned left to his sister's. For all they seemed to argue all the time, lately, she was still the only person - besides their mother - who actually cared about him. He didn't like hurting her feelings, but he knew things she didn't even dream of. He had to keep her safe. By any means necessary. Even if it meant she would hate him for a while.

Taking a deep breath and bracing himself for his sister's temper, he knocked on her door. After almost a minute passed without an answer, he knocked again. And kept on knocking. He didn't stop until he heard some muffled sounds inside and the door was flung open by magic. He hid the grin as best he could and stepped into the room.

Daniella was sitting on her stuffed chair by the window, on her pyjamas, hugging her bent knees and looking intently away from him, out the window. "What do you want, Logan?"

He walked further into the room and sat at the feet of her bed, elbows braced on his knees, looking intently at her. Had the boy told her about his visit? "You're upset," he stated the obvious.

"I'm angry. Leave me alone."

"Why?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Who hurt you?"

Daniella's head turned in his direction suddenly and there was such heat and anger in her eyes, he was a little taken aback. But he stood his ground. Eventually she looked away again.

"Just go away, Logan."

"You used to trust me, Dany."

She snorted at that and shook her head. "Damn right, Logan. Used to. But you changed. Ever since you started hanging out with those creeps you call friends." She turned fully to him, now and studied him. "I barely recognize _my big brother_ anymore... You changed so much, sometimes I wonder if I ever knew you at all!"

Those words chilled Logan. He leaned closer to his sister, and said urgently, "It's still me, Dany! I know I mess up sometimes, I know I come on too strong, but I'm just trying to keep us all safe. Trying to keep _you_ safe. You're my lil' sis. It's always been my job to look after you..."

"Logan, I'm not-" Daniella started, exasperated, but Logan interrupted her.

"I'll do better now, Dany, I promise. I'll start my new job tomorrow, and things will be better. You'll see."

Daniella's look was doubtful. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She sagged back into her chair and shrugged. "If you say so... Now, leave me alone, Logan. I need to pack my things."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah packed all of his school things quickly with a single charm; all of his clothes folded themselves neatly into organized stacks. He smiled a small half-smile to himself as he remembered the first time he had ever packed for Hogwarts. Things were much different now.**

**He hovered his trunk carefully down the stairs, taking care not to scrape the walls with its edges.**

**"I'll see you at Christmas, mum…" he said to his mother, who was misty-eyed. She wrapped her arms around Jo's neck.**

**"You're all grown up," She whispered, her voice cracking. She was trying to be as composed as possible. He smiled at her, patting her on the back. Something tackled him from behind at the waist, and he turned around to pat his little sister on the head.**

**"Wotcher, Pea," he grinned, giving her a tight squeeze. Then, he Flooed to Diagon Alley, cutting across London to King's Cross.**

* * *

Daniella pulled her trunk across the station without turning to see if her mother would follow her through the fake wall. Of course she would, but Daniella still hoped Logan wouldn't. He had insisted he'd come with the two of them, and Daniella knew why.

She quickly looked around the station, then at the train, feeling a little relieved Josiah wasn't in sight. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to us, Dany?" Logan's voice reached her a second later.

She turned to him, giving him the same an annoyed look that stated her thoughts clearly. He chuckled, but she saw him look around as well. Huffing out a breath, she released the grip on her trunk and gave her mother a quick hug.

"Have fun, dear. And be careful," her mother said, brushing her long hair back.

"I will. Goodbye, mother," Daniella said, dodging Logan's hand as he tried to ruffle her hair.

"See you around, Dany."

She glanced at him, but didn't answer. Now that she was going back to Hogwarts, the magnitude of his actions had come back full force to haunt her. But she'd promised Jo, so she just raised a hand in goodbye as she turned away and entered the train.

* * *

**Josiah spotted Dan and her family almost immediately, and turned a full 180 degrees at the sight of them. It pained him, but it was necessary; there was no way they could be seen together in front of her brother. A dull thud interrupted his thoughts, and he jumped back a bit, realizing that he had run into a person.**

**"Sorry," he squeezed out, his heart thudding in his ears as he recognized the other boy's face. "Noah," he attempted weakly, feeling lightheaded and dream-like all of a sudden. His eyes lingered on Noah's chest, finding the glistening badge there that hadn't been present last year. "You've been made Quidditch Captain. Congratulations."**

* * *

Noah raised his hands to stop the shorter boy, but he bumped into him before he had time to say anything. His eyes narrowed a little as he recognized him: Ravenclaw's Prefect.

"Josiah," he greeted in his deep, slightly raspy voice. He glanced down at his own badge and the grin returned to his round face. A grin he'd been showing as often as that badge since he'd received it. "Yeah!" he said, adjusting it proudly. "And we'll get that Cup for Gryffindor this year! Nothing personal," he added with a smirk.

* * *

**Josiah self-consciously straightened his own badge as a group of tiny first years tumbled past. He gave Noah a shy half-smile. He remembered….**

**"It's alright, we're used to Gryffindor getting the Cup," Jo murmured good-naturedly. "Potter never gave us a break, either."**

**There was silence after this observation, and he felt his cheeks start to heat up as his mind scrambled for something to say before Noah lost interest.**

* * *

Noah shrugged at that. Was Josiah another Potter fan? Not that he cared, of course, but the few times they'd exchanged more than a few words in class, Josiah looked like someone with a wider range of interests. He didn't even look like the kind of guy who cared much for Quidditch.

"Well, yeah, Potter was a great player." He admitted. "But he didn't play alone. We can do just as well without him." He was going to make sure of that.

He pushed his trunk further into the compartment to make space in the aisle as more people passed by, pushing them on their way. Then, he turned back to Josiah, still standing there. "I didn't know you liked Quidditch…"

* * *

**Jo nodded emphatically, cautiously putting his trunk down. He would have to leave for the Prefect's compartment when the train began to move, but for now, he had plenty of time to enjoy this opportunity.**

**"I didn't mean to imply… just that he was Captain…" Josiah said rather quickly, chuckling a bit. Quidditch conversations weren't his strong point, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.**

**"I, um, read a book about mediwizards who heal injuries at Quidditch matches. It piqued my interest, so I read _Quidditch Through the Ages_ after that. And I've gone to Hogwarts matches, of course, but that's all. I'm not really a good flyer myself…."**

* * *

Noah ran a hand over his short blond hair, his fingers touching the small scar on the back, thanks to a nasty Bludger a couple years ago. "Quidditch teams always need more people willing to do that. Not many Healers specialize in sports injuries, and not all of them are due to Bludgers."

Three of his Gryffindor teammates passed by then, greeting him loudly on their way, teasing him about the badge. He was the oldest one on the team now, one of only two 7th year students there. Noah hesitated, but he didn't really feel like joining the noisy group yet. He leaned back against the compartment door.

"So, you're going to become a Healer? That's cool… it takes way more studying than I'd ever be willing to do, though. I can't imagine doing anything other than flying, you know? I've been riding a broomstick for as long as I can remember!"

* * *

**Jo nodded again, hanging on Noah's every word.**

**"There was an entire chapter about injuries related to faulty Braking Charms," he said knowledgably. "People don't think about it much, but it's still a pretty serious problem. You don't see it very often in professional teams because they use the _Nimbus_, but people riding _Comets_ and _Cleansweeps_…." He trailed off, realizing he had been dominating the conversation.**

**His gaze followed Noah's noisy friends down the corridor, and he wondered if the other boy was just staying with him to be polite.**

**"Well, when I was younger, I just wanted to be a doctor," he murmured, a little more reservedly. "Being Muggleborn, you know. When I learned about Healing, it was everything I'd ever dreamed of and more." He paused a moment, smiling a little at the thought of a young Noah zipping around the heads of his parents on a broomstick. "It must have been fun for you."**

* * *

Noah bit his lip to help him keep a straight face, but it was difficult to hide his amusement at Josiah's enthusiasm. He let out a low chuckle. "I actually tried to fix my old Comet after I crashed into the same tree three times. But I'm not very good at Charms." He frowned a little at his own ease admitting an embarrassing episode of his lonely practice sessions at home.

He shrugged. "Fun? Yeah, it was." He looked around for a moment, but didn't make any effort to change the light tone of his voice as he grinned and said, "As far as I'm concerned, despite some people's opinions, we are the lucky ones. We get the best of both worlds! My parents are both wizards, but my grandparents aren't, so I'm familiar enough with the Muggle world to not stare at a car like a fool."

* * *

**Josiah grinned despite himself, looking at his hands, which were clasped in his lap loosely.**

**"It's very difficult," he said consolingly, leaving out the fact that he had managed to Charm a cushion to brake at will on his first try. "And disastrous to get wrong; better left to the professionals, hey."**

**It was Jo's turn to chuckle this time as he blushed slightly at Noah's words.**

**"Tricky things, those automobiles," he teased. He made brief eye contact with Noah, and looked quickly out the window. "It really is amazing, isn't it?"**

**Suddenly, there was the squealing sound of wheels on tracks, and the train began to churn to a start. He snapped out of his dream-like state, startled, and then looked at Noah apologetically.**

**"Sorry, I've got to run! It was… really nice talking to you." He hoped this didn't strike Noah as a weird thing to say, but he didn't have time to ponder it – he didn't want to set a bad example by being late.**

* * *

Noah followed Josiah's gaze out the window. "What is?" But then Josiah hastily excused himself. At a loss, and feeling a slight sting of disappointment at the conversation being cut short, he quickly said, "Sure… We'll catch up later, then."

When he was alone, he looked around at the empty compartment, a little confused by what had just happened. Then, he picked up his trunk again and went after his teammates. All he had to do was follow the noise.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra Greengrass strode confidently down the aisles, breezing by several second and third years, who had to squeeze to the wall to avoid being whacked by his elbow. If he noticed, he made no sign; he was a man on a mission.**

**He had checked every compartment except the ones nearest to the front, which meant she was either in the lavatory or with some first years. Raising one eyebrow tentatively, he pushed open the first front compartment.**

**"Ah," he murmured, smiling at Dan, then at the crowd of petrified first years around her, one of whom he recognized. "There you are, cousin. I've been looking for you." The younger boy looked even paler than he had been a few moments ago. He turned to Dan, motioning to the seat across from her.**

**"I don't suppose this seat is taken. His mother wanted me to keep an eye on him." This wasn't true, of course, but it came out smoothly nonetheless.**

* * *

Daniella was considering either using _Muffliato_ or just petrifying all the first years so she would have a quiet journey, but it turned out they were petrified simply because she sat next to them. Just as well. She'd rather be travelling alone, since she couldn't do it with Jo. She was definitely not in the mood to sit with any Slytherins, and everyone else in the school just looked at her sideways for being a Slytherin, like they thought she'd curse them whenever she got bored.

So, she sat with the first years, and now she entertained herself studying them, trying to guess which of them would dare to speak first, when the door pushed open.

She clenched her teeth, not sure how to react at the sight of Ezra. His words disturbed her a little, but she made sure she didn't let it show. She knew immediately why he'd come, but she still had to pretend. At least now she knew who the spy was. Was he really going to be that blatant following her around so closely all the time? She might just take a more direct and definitive approach to show her opinion about having a bodyguard she hadn't requested.

Deciding it would be best to not betray any of her thoughts just yet, she offered him the hint of a lopsided smirk. "So, you've been promoted to babysitter now?" She said sarcastically, not quite able to look in his eyes for too long until her emotions settled.

* * *

**Ezra smirked back at her, unfazed. Logan had warned him that his sister was a handful; he knew now that he wouldn't be disappointed.**

**"One of my finer achievements," he said silkily, sliding into the compartment and closing the door behind him. The first year nearest him leaned over onto his companion to avoid brushing shoulders with the older boy.**

**"I've just seen your Ravenclaw friend at the Prefect's meeting. He was looking a bit more flustered than usual; did you two have a row?" Although Dan was avoiding his eyes, Ezra's gaze did not waver. She was very attractive, he thought to himself, despite being a Muggle-lover.**

* * *

Well, then. Straight to the point, it seemed. Daniella couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing, though. She kept an indifferent expression while her mind raced, trying to make a quick decision. It was a trap, obviously. If she wasn't careful, Logan would know she knew. It still hurt; for most of the last few weeks, she had tried to convince herself her brother had just been bluffing.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't know. You probably have spent more time with him already than I have, all summer." She focused on her frustration to push other thoughts aside and look back at him, giving him a provcative sideways glance. "Why? Are you jealous?"

* * *

**Ezra snorted out a pompous laugh, showing his sparkling white teeth.**

**He leaned closer to Dan, his green and silver tie falling forward onto his lap. "Yes, I'm jealous. If I'm honest, it irks me that he gets to spend so much time with you, and me so little."**

* * *

Daniella was still trying to get over the whiff of his perfume that suddenly reached her as he leaned closer when his words sunk in. She blinked, trying to make her brain work properly again. Why was her heart hammering like that, all of a sudden?

She tightened her grip on the seat at her sides. The compartment was full of snotty kids. This was not the time for her body to betray her like that. Besides, Ezra was an idiot, she told herself. He was smug, conceited, mean, hot- no, he was so full of himself! He was a jerk, always picking on Muggleborn students.

Her teeth were still clenched when she forced a smile in reply, as she leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "And why would I want to spend any time with you?"

* * *

**"Because I understand what you're going through," Ezra murmured in reply, softening his gaze just a touch. "I know how hard it is to grow up in an overbearing, well-respected Pureblood family. It's difficult. There are a lot of expectations." He straightened his tie with the flat, open palm of his hand.**

**"He might be a good friend to you – Josiah, is it? – but he will never understand you as the fully realized witch that you are. He does not understand the height of our society. He is incapable of that. I am not."**

**There was a knock on the compartment door, and Ezra slid it open as easily as if they had been talking about the weather. It was the snack trolley. He smiled sweetly at the middle-aged witch, who blushed faintly.**

**"Five of each," he murmured, handing her a freshly minted Galleon.**

* * *

Daniella didn't know what to say. His words had hit the target so perfectly, she almost believed him. Almost. The moment he mentioned Jo, she felt like smacking him upside the head, like she did just a minute ago.

"He does-" she pressed her lips firmly shut, ridiculously grateful the witch with the trolley interrupted her, before she ruined everything. He had almost got her. Had he said all those things just to make her lower her guard? Most likely. Her temper spiked, in Jo's behalf and her own.

She took the moments he was distracted by the sweets to take a deep breath. She wasn't supposed to know what was happening. Which meant she wasn't supposed to know why Jo didn't talk to her anymore in public.

After the witch left, she said, "I don't think we're friends anymore, so you don't have to worry."

* * *

**Ezra raised his eyebrows very slightly, dabbing some pumpkin pasty crumbs from the corner of his mouth in a delicate, cultured manner. He smiled again; he had definitely struck a nerve with that one.**

**"Give it a bit of time," he said airily, offering her one pasty and passing the rest over to the first years, who took them with slightly shaky hands. "He'll come around, I'm sure. These are difficult times for everyone."**

**He looked out the window pensively, admiring the setting sun.**

**"Nearly time," he murmured, examining his well-manicured hands before looking over at the first years. "Aren't you going to get changed?" He asked them, and they scurried off, grateful for the excuse to escape.**

* * *

Daniella watched him pass the pasties around, then accepted one, eyebrows raised. That one gesture baffled her more than anything else that had happened since Ezra had sat in front of her.

She couldn't make sense of his words, his actions. Why was he saying those things? Was he really just going for the laughs by playing her, by trying to make her act like a fool, like most girls did around him?

Her cheeks flushed a little when the kids vanished from the compartment. Uncomfortable as the situation had been with them there, she now felt like she'd been taken the last shield she could use. On the other hand, she now had a perfect opportunity to use the Memory Charm.

Her fingers moved closer to her pocket, but her eyes met his then and she hesitated. "What exactly do you want, Ezra?"

* * *

**"From you? Nothing," Ezra murmured evenly. "My friendship is an offer, not an order, Daniella. We both know that you are distant to your housemates. But things are changing rapidly. Someday, you will need someone that you can depend on." He paused, the silence broken by the scuffling of feet and chattering voices in the corridor. "Keep me in the back of your mind."**

**He stood, his tall, lanky, but somehow still imposing frame darkened against the falling light. With a last lazy half-smile in her direction, he slid open the door to the compartment and left her there.**

* * *

Daniella sat there alone for a long time. His words still echoed in her head, veiled in mystery, hidden messages she wasn't sure she was reading correctly and was afraid not to. It wasn't easy to admit and accept how accurate his words had been about her deepest feelings, some of which she hadn't even admitted to herself before.

Why did it have to be so difficult? Why couldn't she just be friends with Jo and love her family and feel good in her house at Hogwarts?

The train stopped, snapping her out of her thoughts, but not for long. The rest of the night dragged itself in a succession of faces and light and color and food and laughter, but she felt detached from it. By the time she followed the rest of the Slytherins to the dungeons, she couldn't remember much of what had happened in the Great Hall.

She saw Jo leaving with a small flock of first year Ravenclaws heading towards their common room; saw Ezra glide in front of another flock of first year Slytherins, including his cousin, ahead of her.

She stayed up after almost everyone was already gone into their dorms, holding the black notebook tightly in her hands. She opened it, looked at the blank pages, then around the common room. Distant, Ezra had said about her. A painful truth. Distant and alone, was how she felt most of the time, in Hogwarts. Shrugging off those grim thoughts, she looked at the empty page and started to write:

_«How many times did you have to yell at a first year already? Less than three and I'll think you're becoming a softie._

_Did anyone go after you, today? Did you hear something?»_

* * *

**Josiah had all of his books spread out on a heavy wooden table in the Ravenclaw common room. It was one of the reasons he loved his common room so much; he wondered if all the other common rooms were practically a library.**

**He furrowed his eyebrows and tried to think, but his mind kept wandering back to his conversation with Noah on the train. It had gone well, right? He hadn't said anything weird, right? And Noah had ignored his friends for a bit just so that he could stay with Josiah… then again, maybe he was overthinking it. He sighed, ready to go up and curl into bed when the glowing notebook caught the corner of his eye.**

**He opened it, reading Dan's message once, then twice for clarity. He missed her so much; there were so many things he was feeling that he just couldn't tell anybody else. He picked up his quill to write.**

_**«Exactly three, so I'm in the clear, right? I also had to rescue one on the way up; she fell into the trick stair. Everything is pretty peaceful on my end. So far, nobody has said anything to me. You were right, Marcus is Head Boy.**_

_**Oh, and Noah is Quidditch Captain.**_

_**You sound worried. What happened?»**_

* * *

Daniella smiled warmly at the words showing up on the page, chuckling at the thought of a tiny kid facing those stairs for the first time.

_«I'll take that as a warm-up, then. Good enough.»_

She paused for a moment, eyeing the seemingly innocent note about Noah. That thought lifted some of the tension she'd been feeling.

_«Oh, is he? Let me guess. We're going to be watching Quidditch games a lot more closely now, aren't we?_

_I'm not sure what happened. My new 'bodyguard', Ezra Greengrass, came to my compartment on the train. I think he was just probing, trying to see if I know something, or… I don't know, maybe he just wanted to mess with my mind.»_

* * *

_**«That explains why Ezra was looking at me funny…. I thought I had something on my face, or perhaps he was just disgusted (as per usual) that there's a Muggleborn in his presence. Be careful around him, okay?**_

_**I talked Noah's ears off about Braking Charms, Dan. It was so embarrassing. I hope he doesn't avoid me from now on. He remembered my name, though. It's a start.**_

_**Sorry, but I've got to get some sleep. I'll need to hand out schedules first thing in the morning, and you know how that is.**_

_**Sweet dreams Dan! »**_

**With this, he closed the notebook and slid it back into his bag, along with his textbooks. Sighing, he heaved the bag over his shoulder and carried it up the stairs to the 7th year Ravenclaw boys' dormitory.**


	4. First Day

**_Chapter 4 - First Day_**

Noah dismissed his Quidditch teammates after making copies of all of their schedules, with a promise to look into them as soon as possible and define a practice schedule for them. None of them was a Prefect, which meant they wouldn't have as many issues in making a schedule, but there were a couple fifth years who would soon start panicking over their OWLs.

Noah studied his own schedule more carefully as he ate. He had to worry with his own NEWTs, he supposed. His parents had convinced him to take as many of the important classes as he could this year, despite his Quidditch aspirations.

His first class today was Charms… with Ravenclaw. He remembered the conversation in the train with Josiah. The Ravenclaw Prefect had had a good point. He could always use some of the things he learned and apply them to his flying skills. And that meant trying to learn something in Charms.

Huffing out a sigh, he swallowed the rest of his bacon and eggs, picked up all the schedules and his bag and made his way to Flitwick's class.

* * *

**Josiah arrived for Charms early, poking his head around the door and making eye contact with a short older wizard with a large mustache. Jo grinned.**

**"Morning, Professor," he called out, putting his bag on a nearby table. It wasn't a secret that Josiah had always been one of Flitwick's favorites.**

**"Josiah, my lad! Merlin's pants, you're early this morning."**

**"Actually, Professor, I had a question… do you have a moment?"**

**The two remained in quiet, speculative conversation about Patronus Charms until the rest of the class began funneling in.**

* * *

Noah walked towards the classroom, dragging his feet, letting the small group of people gathered there go in first. There were only a few Gryffindors, the rest of them were Ravenclaws. He went in last, closing the door behind him. Taking his wand out of his back pocket, he slumped on a chair close to the window and laid the book on the table. It took him a moment to find Professor Flitwick, his small frame hidden by Josiah.

His thoughts slipped away from Quidditch for a moment, but he didn't want to be caught staring, so he looked out the window instead.

* * *

**Josiah thanked Professor Flitwick for his time and made his way back to his seat, looking around the room at the students who had entered while he wasn't paying attention. Looking near the window, he spotted Noah, and his heart skipped a beat. Not wanting to get caught staring, he hurriedly fumbled around for his Advanced Charms book and laid his wand on top of it.**

**"Good morning, class!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, climbing up onto the box behind his teacher's podium. "I know you all are eager to get right back into the swing of things, so I thought we'd start off today's lesson with a little partner work and review!" A few Ravenclaws tittered excitedly, but Josiah was almost certain a few of the Gryffindors groaned. Then, the full scope of Flitwick's statement hit him – partner work. He looked over at Noah with the slightest glimmer of hope; his body felt very warm all of a sudden.**

**"We'll start with Imperturbable Charms, which you should all remember from last year's mock exam." The Professor looked around the class, who hadn't begun to move yet. "Well, pip pip!"**

* * *

Noah looked around at the other Gryffindors. His best mate wasn't here today and the girls were all close to each other, so he didn't have an immediate option to partner with. That didn't stop a couple of the girls from leaning forward and asking him to choose them to partner with.

Noah offered a weak smile, but he had no desire of having either of those two as partners. The one he didn't choose would probably be upset with him. Trying to figure out how to get out of that situation, he searched the room until he met Josiah's eyes.

He didn't seem to have a partner yet, and he was good at Charms, if he remembered correctly. "Do you have a partner?" He asked him, trying to sound untroubled.

* * *

**"Oh," Josiah said, as though this wasn't what he had been hoping for all along. "Um, no, not yet! Would you like to…? I'll go get us an ostrich egg…" he murmured, sliding his bag to the far side of the table so that Noah had room to put his things.**

**He walked quickly to the table where Professor Flitwick had arranged the ostrich eggs; a few classmates who had never seen one before were looking at them slightly puzzled. He picked up the nearest one and, cradling it carefully, made his way back to Noah.**

**"Erm, so, would you rather, or shall I…?" He said non-committedly.**

* * *

Noah moved his things, his ears burning a little under the gaze of the girls as he turned his back on them. He scrambled through his memory, trying to make sure he remembered the charm correctly.

"Uh…" he hesitated, then lowered his wand. "You should protect it first. If I do it, we're probably going to need a new egg in ten seconds…"

* * *

**Josiah swallowed the laugh that threatened to bubble up, settling for smiling consolingly. Pulling out his spindly willow wand, he waved it over the egg and said clearly, "_Mitio!_"**

**Nothing appeared to be different, but Jo felt confident that the spell had succeeded.**

**"You can have a go at it now," he grinned, standing back from the giant egg.**

* * *

Noah eyed the egg for a moment, then raised his wand again and tried to Summon it. It didn't move. Then, he tried to levitate it, but it still didn't move.

"Hmm…" He narrowed his eyes, the competitor in him silently accepting the challenge. Clearing his throat, he murmured, "_Diffindo!_"

He gave Josiah a sideways look when the egg just lay there defiantly. "Seriously?" Still looking at Josiah, his wand still pointing at the egg, he said, "_Confrigo!_" hoping he could catch him off-guard somehow.

He sighed loudly, glaring at the untouched egg. "You're good," he admitted, with a hint of frustration.

* * *

**Josiah grinned apologetically at Noah's frustration, lifting the charm from the egg. He was pretty cute when he was flustered….**

**"Your turn," he offered, trying to get a good angle.**

* * *

Noah bit the tip of his tongue, determined to not make a complete fool of himself. He wasn't that bad at Charms. He had succeeded in this particular Charm before, if only a few times.

Rubbing the back of his head, he furrowed his brow at the egg, closed his hand tightly around the wand and said as clearly as he could manage, "Mitio!"

After a long moment of intense focus, he said, "Go ahead."

* * *

**Examining the unsure expression on Noah's face, Josiah swallowed once and pointed his wand timidly at the egg.**

**"_Expulso_," he murmured. The egg twitched a bit, but didn't budge. He looked up at Noah again; if he went easy on the egg, he was surely going to realize, and then he would think that Josiah was mocking him….**

**Clearing his throat, he targeted the egg again and said more firmly, "_Deprimo!_" A gust of wind erupted from the end of his wand and swept up the egg, which twirled violently in midair. It was halfway across the room before Josiah could react quickly enough to summon it again.**

**"It was a good effort," he said in a small voice, trying not to sound braggy.**

* * *

Noah glared at the egg Josiah summoned again, trying to will the heat out of his face. _Damnit!_ He could do better than that.

"Again," he murmured, a little more abruptly than he wanted. He glanced at his partner. "Sorry… can we try again?" He asked more quietly. "I can do better than that." He didn't know why he wanted to make a good impression on someone he didn't really know that well, but it was stronger than him. He didn't want Josiah to think he was a failure.

* * *

**His serious tone caught Josiah off guard, but he simply nodded, turning back toward the egg and furrowing his eyebrows in concentration.**

**"It usually helps me to envision it as something very important to me… something worth protecting," Josiah said rather shyly. "I know it's only an ostrich egg, but…"**

* * *

Noah listened to him intently, then looked back at the egg. "Must've been something very important, then," he said, remembering Josiah's attempt. He wondered offhandedly if a Bludger would've been able to hit that egg, then. "Alright…"

He tried to think of something he'd want to protect. "_Mitio!_" He said one more time, completely focused on the object in front of him. Exhaling softly, he added, "Hit it."

* * *

**"_Expulso!_" Josiah said confidently, happy to oblige. The egg remained stationary, and Josiah pursed his lips. "_Diffindo! REDUCTO!_"**

**The papers on the table blustered about, but the egg remained completely still, and Josiah grinned at Noah from the side.**

**"Must have been something important, hey!"**

* * *

Noah laughed, his fist pumping. "Gotcha!"

His grin was wide and bright when he turned to Josiah. "Thanks, man! You really helped…"

* * *

**Josiah's cheeks flushed immediately, grinning back at Noah a little reservedly. His heart sank a bit at being called '_man_'… as much as he wished otherwise, it made it seem like Noah thought of him like one of his many male friends. He talked to Josiah the way he talked to his Quidditch teammates….**

**"You're welcome," he said softly.**

* * *

Noah looked away in the sudden awkward silence, with the distinct feeling he'd said something wrong, but having no idea what. Not sure what to say, or why it seemed so difficult to find an interesting subject, he poked the egg with the tip of his wand.

"So… wanna try this charm again, or should we move to the next one?"

* * *

**"Sure," Josiah agreed, smiling again. He turned to look at the chalkboard, where Professor Flitwick had listed their assignment. "I think we're supposed to make the egg do a gymnastics routine next – it says 'two somersaults, a backflip, and a three second spin.'"**

* * *

Noah groaned, casting the window a wistful glance, wishing he could be outside enjoying the last few sunny days. "He's really going to push us this year, isn't he?" He asked.

* * *

**Josiah chuckled, resisting the urge to give the other boy a pat on the shoulder as he waved his wand over the egg nonchalantly. It tumbled forward, then backward, and settled in the middle to spin elegantly before landing softly back onto the table. Professor Flitwick, who was walking in between the rows to observe the progress of each group, clapped his hands delightedly.**

**"Five points, Mr. Johnston! Wonderfully precise, as usual…" Josiah gave his teacher an embarrassed half-smile, thanking him with a nod and turning back to Noah.**

**"Aye, but I suppose he's got to, hasn't he? I've heard the Charms NEWT is the second most failed, right after Potions…" Josiah paled at this thought, wondering if he would be among that second number.**

* * *

Noah couldn't help but feel a little disheartened at that. "Why did I think it would be a good idea to sign up for Charms again?" He mumbled.

"Congratulations!" He said when Professor Flitwick walked away. He poked the egg before attempting the movements himself. It looked like a drunk bee, but he managed to do them all. He snorted at his own display. "I guess it's better than Potions…"

* * *

**"Anything's better than Potions," Josiah grumbled, watching Noah guide the ostrich egg through the prescribed motions. He clapped in a loving imitation of Professor Flitwick at the display's end. "Getting it on the first try is nothing to snort at," he assured the Quidditch Captain, motioning with his head in the direction of the group across from them, who were trying to clean up the slimy remnants of their egg. He looked up at the clock; there wasn't much time left.**

**"So, erm… how are Quidditch tryout preparations coming?"**

* * *

Noah looked over at the other table. "Yeah, at least our egg survived! Maybe we should find a name for it," he said, offering the other boy a lopsided grin.

He fidgeted on his chair at his question. "Sorry I'm not a very good partner. You'd probably earn more points if I wasn't slowing you down. I'm a little distracted because of all the arrangements. I didn't know it was so much work being Captain. " Noah straightened up on the chair. "I just… I want to do things right. It's my last year; my only chance to prove I can do it as team Captain, and maybe someone in professional Quidditch will look my way…" He trailed off awkwardly, realizing he had been babbling about his own concerns to the Ravenclaw Prefect in the middle of a Charms class.

* * *

**"Looks like a Jack to me," Josiah grinned, touching the egg gently. He looked over at the other boy as the mood changed, and he lowered himself into the chair next to him to listen.**

**"I'm sure that just being Quidditch Captain means a great deal to a professional team," he tried to assure the other. "It's a lot of responsibility to organize things like that, with your entire house looking at you… Prefects have three years to practice, but you only had one. If it's overwhelming at first, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself."**

* * *

Noah gave Josiah a doubtful look that said '_Are you crazy?_', but then he gave a resigned chuckle. "You're not the first one telling me that. But I don't know how to be any other way. If I didn't push myself, I wouldn't even get this far. And it's the only thing I'm really good at. The only way I can make people proud."

* * *

**Josiah was quiet for a while, pondering Noah's words. He wanted to tell Noah that it was alright – even if nobody else thought so, Jo thought he was perfectly fine even without Quidditch. But that was embarrassing, and would lead to more questions than answers.**

**"It's not all you're good at," he settled for stubbornly. After these words, the magical clock on the wall chimed a cheery tune to signify the end of class. Josiah silently waved his wand, packing his things in one movement.**

**"Um, I'll see you later, then?" He said, barely audible over the shuffle of his classmates.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Dan made her way down the stairs to the dungeons, heading towards the Potions classroom. She felt more than a little nervous at the perspective of the next three hours. Slytherin had Potions with Ravenclaw. That would've made her ecstatic, if it didn't mean Ezra Greengrass would be in the same room as well; unless he hadn't taken Potions this year, but she wasn't holding her hopes up over that possibility.

She was confident she had nailed the False Memory Charm. She also knew she wasn't going to be able to spend the whole school year without talking to Jo again; she already felt about to explode.

She was one of the first students arriving and leaned against the wall. Holding her bag with one hand and biting a nail with the other, she waited for whoever came first, hoping it was Jo so she could at least ask him if he still wanted to partner up with her.

* * *

**Josiah was very aware of the feeling of Ezra Greengrass's gaze boring into the back of his head. He tried to walk quickly and efficiently, like he hadn't noticed, but the damage was already done. He had been successfully intimidated.**

**The Slytherin boy had been walking behind him since the west 4th floor staircase; he had looked behind himself by chance, and made direct contact with those smoldering, piercing brown eyes. He had whipped his head around again so fast that he thought he might get whiplash.**

**As he approached the dungeons, he saw Dan standing near the entrance, probably waiting for him. He was eager to talk to her, so eager it was painful, but it would be such a risk…**

**He used his eyes to motion forcefully to the side, hoping Daniella would get the hint.**

* * *

Dan's heart clogged her throat when she saw Jo approaching. She started to motion towards him, but his signal and, a second later, the Slytherin's appearance stopped her. She didn't hide the frustration when her eyes met Greengrass's for a moment.

She couldn't talk to Jo yet, not without his agreement, so there was only one way. Without looking at her friend, she lowered herself to the ground, her back braced against the wall as she searched her bag. She pulled out the black notebook and a quill, and wrote:

«_Greengrass is the only one spying on us, I'm certain. I can use the Memory Charm after class… if you want to partner up._»

She waited, but didn't look up from the notebook, trying to look as if she was simply taking notes to herself.

* * *

**Jo lowered himself into a seat in the corner, rummaging through his own bag at the feeling of temporary heat radiating from it. He pulled out the notebook and read Dan's message, then picked up his quill.**

**«_If you're sure._»**

**It was all he wrote before closing the notebook again, stashing it back into his bag and looking towards the front of the classroom morosely. Potions was bad enough, but to have all this drama involved…. Stupid Ezra.**

* * *

Dan bit her lower lip as Josiah's words showed up on the page. Why did it have to be a secret, why should they feel guilty? What could be so wrong about them being friends?

She eyed Greengrass again, trying to read his thoughts, trying to understand what he would do if she sat next to Jo. She didn't believe he would make a scene during class. And it wouldn't be very difficult to catch him before he had time to send a message to her brother.

But he had offered her friendship, if she had understood him correctly. He was probably just saying that to get close to her and find out more to tell her brother; he didn't have any real interest in her friendship or anything. Him, of all people! It wasn't a secret how he felt about Muggleborn wizards, so he knew she couldn't possibly believe his intentions. So, why tell her those things?

Professor Slughorn waved his hand, calling them into the classroom. Shaking off those thoughts, Dan exhaled a long breath. She had to make a decision now.

She picked up her things and went inside, taking her seat next to Josiah, trying to keep her hands steady and her expression even, while her heart raced.

* * *

**Josiah attempted to give Dan a comforting smile, which ended up being more of a petrified lip quiver as he caught Ezra's eyes boring into him again. He let out a loud, audible sigh. He might not be a Gryffindor, but he couldn't just let himself be pushed around this way. It wasn't logical.**

**He pulled his sturdy, pewter cauldron nearer to the center of the table, inspecting the inside for cleanliness. It shined dully back at him.**

* * *

It would be fine if they just acted like normal. If they did, Dan would only have to change the person that was her partner in Greengrass's memories. Simple enough, right?

She set the Potions book carefully in front of her, at a safe distance from the cauldron, so it wouldn't get dirty, then the kit she'd bought at the Diagon Alley with all the ingredients perfectly lined up in front of her, ready to be used. She placed her own cauldron a little to the side, just in case, though she believed they would be working in pairs, if she knew Slughorn well enough.

The familiarity of that small routine helped settle her nerves. When she was done, she looked up at Jo and managed a real smile, even if it was a little shaky. "I missed you," she whispered.

* * *

**Ezra tried to look nonchalant, but as his gaze skimmed over the pair of them together, he felt something surge through him; something unpleasant. She had made her decision, and it defied all logic, as per usual. She was making his job extraordinarily difficult.**

**"I missed you too," Josiah whispered back, preparing to open his Potions book at Slughorn's orders. "Do you think he's going to stare at us the whole time?" He looked a little apprehensive about this, hoping that Dan would be able to offer him some comfort.**

* * *

Dan glanced at Greengrass out of the corner of her eye. A shiver ran down her spine, but she couldn't tell if it was fear or embarrassment. _If looks could kill…_ she thought, but returned his look with as much determination as she could gather. She wasn't doing anything wrong, and she wouldn't let anyone convince her of the opposite.

Exhaling softly, she looked straight ahead, at Professor Slughorn, who was now giving them the instructions for that class, the words appearing on the blackboard behind him at the same time. A blended antidote, which they had learned to make in their sixth year. The instructions on the blackboard were missing a few steps, which meant they would have to remember all the details and twists to it.

A small smile blossomed as she looked back at Jo. She was at home in this kind of challenge. "He better not, if he has any intention of succeeding in today's class." Her eyes skimmed over the list of ingredients Slughorn had given them and she started to separate the ones she'd need. "So," she started lightly, teasingly, "is there something you want to tell me?"

* * *

**Jo tried and failed to suppress a grin at her question, dragging out the few ingredients he remembered.**

**"It has porcupine quills in, right?" He mused, then shook his head at this distraction. "Do you think if I wore a Gryffindor support button to their matches, it would be too much?" His cheeks were lightly flushed as he added, a little more quietly, "He asked me to be his partner in Charms, Dan! All on his own!"**

* * *

"Yes, but only a couple, or it will make it too strong and bitter… not that someone who was poisoned would worry about that, but still," Dan shrugged. "Just because it's supposed to save someone's life, it doesn't mean it has to taste like punishment."

She snorted softly, trying to keep it quiet. "I don't know, how much do you want to be beaten up by your own housemates when Ravenclaw plays against them? Especially if he cracks open someone's skull in that game!" She teased, setting the fire under the cauldron to the correct intensity. "Alright, official stirrer, start stirring. Clockwise, slowly. I'll chop these boomberries first."

"And you get to have your favorite class with him too? How lucky," she raised her eyebrows, amused with the look on his face. "What did you tell him?"

* * *

**Josiah pulled two quills out and set them beside the cauldron, still smiling blissfully.**

**"Oh, think of all the Ravenclaws you know… do you think any of them could beat anyone up?" He said with mock seriousness, picking up the heavy, pewter stirring rod and beginning to stir slowly clockwise. His brow furrowed with concentration, but he managed to gush anyway.**

**"I told him yes, obviously!" he said a little louder than he intended. Thankfully, everyone was too busy concentrating on their potion to notice. "Like any sane, normal person with good eyesight."**

* * *

Old habits set in quickly, and after a couple of minutes, Dan was happily chopping and peeling ingredients into the cauldron, the familiar activity making her mood improve by the second.

"Hmm, true, I guess. He's no effort to look at. Which reminds me, doesn't he have a giggly group of fangirls on his tail all the time? But he chose you instead?" She winked at Jo. "I'm glad he's smart enough to choose his companies wisely."

* * *

**"Yes," Josiah conceded, slightly put-out at this thought. Perhaps he had just been the safe option out of a choice of a dozen other Noah fans. He pushed this thought out of his mind and smiled again. "But you won't find me complaining about that, anyway."**

**"And what about you? You know, I read an article in Witch Weekly that said if you don't make at least three romantic connections by your last year in school, then… oops!" A small spray of purple potion had slopped out of the cauldron during his too-excited stirring, and the desk hissed and smoked where the concoction had landed. He fanned it with his hand and stopped talking, resuming his focused stirring.**

* * *

"You're a far better choice than any of them, in my opinion," Dan said encouragingly. "I think there's a chance for you." She pondered for a moment, looking at board, then searching her memory to see what else was missing from the potion. As a last second experimental thought, she decided to add a tidbit of cinnamon to it. "Does he talk about anything other than Quidditch?" She asked curiously.

She was grateful for Jo's incident with the potion; maybe he wouldn't notice her cheeks heating up at his comment. "Three? I guess I'll be in trouble, then…" She said dismissively, but couldn't help glancing at Greengrass out of the corner of her eye. "I have enough trouble as it is…"

She took the rod herself. "I'll stir for a while, your turn to add last ingredients Slughorn wrote on the board."

* * *

**Ezra didn't even realize he was staring at Daniella until she met his gaze with another furtive, displeased glance. He set his jaw and looked back to his cauldron, which contained a lumpy, hard-to-stir olive green mixture. He poked it thoughtlessly with his stirring rod, and it depressed and re-expanded like a sponge.**

**"You seem distracted," Sabrina, the all-too-willing partner he hadn't wanted, said in her perpetually-bored-sounding monotone voice.**

**"Sorry," Ezra replied, trying to be patient with himself and others and finding it a struggle. He waved his wand and vanished the failed potion, gathering the ingredients again. "Let's start over."**

**"Well, you know what they say," Josiah backtracked, trying to be comforting. "Witch Weekly is a rag anyway."**

**He inhaled a whiff of cinnamon. "But yes, he does. Well, sort of. He talked to me about his feelings, if that counts. His feelings about Quidditch, but still."**

* * *

Dan chanced another glance at the Slytherin Prefect, watching him vanish the contents of his cauldron. It seemed like Josiah had been right when he asked if Greengrass would be watching them the whole time. She stopped stirring, staring at the cauldron without really seeing it. It might have been an interesting daydream to wonder his reasons for doing so, but she knew better, she told herself. He was just gathering information to tell Logan, that's all. And he was with Sabrina – again – which meant he had just really been trying to mess with her mind and her feelings.

The potion bubbled threateningly, demanding her attention. She resumed stirring before it got ruined. "He did, really?" She turned her thoughts back to what Josiah was telling her, smiling at him. "When's the first match?"

* * *

**Josiah tossed in the last of the ingredients, and the potion turned a nice plum color.**

**"Is it done?" He asked cautiously, giving it a good sniff. It smelled good enough; if he had been poisoned, he would have put it in his mouth without much complaint. "Anyway, it's next month I think. They haven't even had tryouts yet."**

**He looked around the room to see how everyone else was faring, and caught Ezra's eyes yet again. He paled, looking down at the table.**

**"Merlin's beard, he's like a dementor," Jo said dryly, wiping a bit of spilled solution off with a damp cloth. "Except he sucks out your soul with his eyes instead of his mouth."**

* * *

Dan examined their potion, took a good sniff, made it swirl slowly. "Yes, this is good. We just have to let it sit for a few minutes now, and we're done. Good job, partner!"

"You can always watch their practices, if you want. Are they private?"

Josiah's last comment guided her thoughts in a direction she hadn't meant them to follow. She blushed a little and tried to make a joke out of it but couldn't think of anything witty. She sat on her stool, propping her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. She shot another glance at Ezra. "I can't figure him out…" she murmured.

* * *

**"Well, even if you could, we don't have enough time right now," Josiah murmured with a glance at the clock. "We've got about 4 minutes to spare." He slid his book and kit back into his bag, then conjured a slim potion vial and handed it to her.**

**"I've got free period next; I'll write you, okay?"**

* * *

Four minutes?! That reminded Dan of what she had to do when the class ended. She tensed, going through the steps of the spell to change Ezra's memory in her mind. Taking the vial, she filled it and quickly made her way to Professor Slughorn's desk.

She returned to her seat to pack her things. "I'm pretty sure we just earned our first 10 points in Potions this year," she said, grinning at Jo. She lowered her voice a little. "I have Herbology next, so I'll try to sneak out right after Greengrass and…" she gave Jo a pointed look. "…you know." She huffed out a breath, biting her lip. "Wish me luck! I'll tell you later if it worked."

Josiah left, but Dan stayed behind for a few moments, letting the rest of the class leave the room, never losing track of where Greengrass was. She really hoped Sabrina wouldn't cling to him until the next class, she didn't want to start leaving unconscious bodies on her path so early in the year. She finally stood up and left the classroom, keeping a safe distance from her target, nervous but determined.


	5. Memory Charm

_**Chapter 5 - Memory Charm**_

**Ezra tossed his things into his bag haphazardly, trying his best to appear merely nonchalant instead of troubled. Daniella would come around, of course. He just had to give her a little time. He had never set his sights on a girl and failed to capture her heart; he did not want to fathom what would happen to the stubborn girl if he failed this time.**

**He threw his bag over his shoulder, adjusting it primly and straightening his tie. His face was now its usual mask of ivory-carved handsomeness, refined and precise in its every expression. He was a pureblood wizard, not some flailing, useless mudblood. By Merlin, he was going to act like it.**

* * *

Daniella kept her wand partially hidden in the folds of her robes, making an effort to hold it loosely, in spite of the butterflies in her stomach. Every time she'd looked at him during Potions class, her determination had wavered a little, and that just couldn't be. She had to protect Jo. He needed her to get this right; he trusted her with his family's safety. And he was her only real friend; that was all that mattered. She wouldn't fail him.

_'__You can do this.'_ She repeated to herself. She took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly and silently, lengthening her stride to catch up with Greengrass.

* * *

**Ezra saw her approaching out of the corner of his eye and felt a growing satisfaction despite himself. Perhaps the temptation of the mudblood had been great, but now that he was gone…**

**"Permit me to walk you to Herbology?" He said warmly and evenly without turning around.**

* * *

Daniella looked around briefly, making sure they were alone. She would get in so much trouble if there were witnesses! He turned slightly then. Her reflexes took over, adrenaline suppressing the nerves.

She heard his question, but her wand was already raised. No turning back now. She went through the steps Jo had taught her, murmuring as she tried to change the last three hours of his memories. A few seconds later she lowered her arm, feeling lightheaded after such intense concentration. She held her wand at her side, still alert, holding her breath as she examined the Slytherin boy closely. He didn't attack her immediately... she considered that a good sign.

"I guess I don't have a more interesting alternative," she said evenly, trying to sound dismissive.

* * *

**Ezra's eyes slid easily out of focus, and he shut them immediately and knitted his eyebrows as though to recover from a hard blow to the head. He stumbled backwards a bit, into Daniella, and then regained some form of composure.**

**"Pardon me," he murmured, his voice a bit raspy. He cleared his throat. He put a hand to his temple for a moment, shook his head briefly, and gave a dry chuckle. "I'm delighted to be your last resort entertainment."**

* * *

Daniella crushed the guilt she felt, looking for signs that the Charm had worked. As he lost his balance, she reached forward, thinking he was going to fall, but stopped herself in mid-movement. She slipped the wand into her pocket instead, giving herself time to calm down.

"Seems like you breathed some nasty vapours in Potions today," she said airily. "Can you stand? I'm not going to pick you up if you fall on your nose."

* * *

**"Quite," Ezra murmured, slightly troubled at the premise of showing weakness in front of Daniella at all. "Nothing a brisk walk outside won't remedy, I'm sure."**

**His legs felt heavy, and it was an effort to move them, but he pushed forward through the hallways as normally as possible.**

**"I had intended to give you something," he began slowly, allowing each syllable of his perfectly cultured accent to linger between them. "But you were..." he squinted, battling the sudden mental fog. "...already partnered, and I didn't have the chance." He pointed his wand into his bag, non-verbally summoning a small book with a worn, black leather cover.**

**"Here you are."**

* * *

Daniella cast him a sideways glance at his hesitation, but kept her expression even. That meant it had worked, right? He would've sounded disdainful if he remembered who her partner had been, like he always had before. Allowing herself to relax a little, she accepted the book.

"An old book?" She started, opening it to examine its contents. She stopped walking, puzzled. She flipped through the pages, her eyes skimming through the poems to rest on the names of the authors. She'd never heard of any of those, but those were all clearly Muggle names. Muggle poems.

Her heart pounded against her chest and she held the book more tightly to keep her hands steady. Was that a trap? "Muggle poems?" She managed to ask doubtfully, eyebrows raising as she looked up to meet his eyes.

* * *

**"Yes," Ezra confirmed, his face a mixture of foggy distance and amusement. "And it came from a perfectly normal Muggle bookshop, so you needn't hold it as though it will bite you."**

**"Do you not like it?"**

* * *

Daniella's cheeks heated up, but she wasn't going to let him feast on her embarrassment. She closed the book and shrugged off the uneasiness. "I wouldn't guess _you_ would like it." Her smirk was sarcastic. "But thank you, I'll read them with much interest." She put the book in her bag and resumed walking towards the front doors. "I wouldn't picture you in a Muggle bookshop either. Must have been an adventure," she teased.

* * *

**"I don't hate Muggles," Ezra said defiantly. "Just because I don't want them deeply involved in our societal affairs doesn't mean I can't appreciate their cultural value."**

**The doors opened, and they stepped outside and into the rising heat of the day. Ezra squinted as the humid air hit his pale, cool skin. He loathed outdoor classes, and Herbology especially.**

**"Be my partner," he said with a small smile before opening the greenhouse door for them. It wasn't a question.**

* * *

"So, you don't mind them as long as they know '_their place'_!" Daniella said bitterly, then clenched her teeth to keep from saying anything that would turn that conversation into an argument. She didn't know what he could do if she pissed him off right now. And she definitely didn't want to stir the memories she'd just changed.

She breathed in the clear, warm, humid air. At least this part was going to be nice this year, coming outside after spending the morning in the dungeons.

She looked at him, eyes narrowing at his bossy tone, her temper flaring. He seemed to have that effect on her more often than anyone else. "Fine, if you're that desperate for my company," she agreed after a thoughtful pause. She entered the greenhouse and walked over to her favorite worktable. "Careful, Greengrass… you shouldn't fall for a Muggle-lover," she added teasingly. "It'll turn your pretty black hair all grey in no time."

* * *

**Ezra raised an eyebrow at her snap of temper, but said nothing. He didn't feel like having a row at the moment. If he was honest, he didn't feel like much of anything, except laying down and taking a nice, long nap...**

**He got so preoccupied in this thought that he stumbled over his own chair, which he gripped tightly to regain balance. He grit his teeth; those vapours had apparently done quite a number on him.**

**"There are charms and potions to remedy grey hair, but no such thing that quenches my thirst for adventure," he drawled, in an attempt to smooth over his moment of awkwardness. "I refuse to believe that someone as diverse as yourself could be only a Muggle-lover."**

* * *

Daniella dropped her bag on the table, wondering why had she signed up for this class again. She would rather be outside, by the lake, enjoying a free period. She snorted softly at his remark. "I'm not, but lately it seems to be my main label."

Then, she gave Ezra a long, doubtful look. The guilt was getting more difficult to smother. He still looked pretty shaky and she didn't think that was supposed to happen. "Are you sure you're alright?" She asked tensely. "You look pale."

Tying to find a way to change the subject and distract them both, she asked, "What's your favorite poem in that book?"

* * *

**"Page thirty-seven," Ezra murmured without skipping a beat, settling into his chair and feeling a bit shaken. "Yes, thank you, I'm fine." He straightened his tie again out of habit, then put an open palm over his Prefect badge as though to make sure that it was still there. Pushing the feeling out of his mind with as much force as he could muster, he adopted his signature smirk and cleared his throat.**

_"I did the dragon's will until you came_  
_Because I had fancied love a casual_  
_Improvisation, or a settled game_  
_That followed if I let the kerchief fall:_  
_Those deeds were best that gave the minute wings_  
_And heavenly music if they gave it wit;_  
_And then you stood among the dragon rings._  
_I mocked, being crazy, but you mastered it_  
_And broke the chain and set my ankles free,_  
_Saint George or else a pagan Perseus;_  
_And now we stare astonished at the sea,_  
_And a miraculous strange bird shrieks at us."_

**He paused to rest his voice, sliding his bag off of the table and onto the floor beside his chair.**

* * *

Daniella didn't realize she was staring at him until he fell silent. She felt like her world had been turned upside-down, shaken and then turned up again. She looked away, trying to think of something to say. "That's…" she trailed off. Damn, that boy was going to get her in trouble! "…interesting."

* * *

**The corners of Ezra's mouth curled upwards, not in a smirk, but in a genuine smile.**

**"I've memorized them all," he informed her, indicating the small book she still held. "After you've read through it, you can tell me yours."**

* * *

Against her best judgement, Daniella smiled back. "I will," she promised.

Their conversation was interrupted by Professor Sprout. Daniella gave Ezra a questioning look. It looked like the effort of reciting that poem by memory had made him paler. "Can I trust you with sharp gardening tools?"

* * *

**Ezra had been trying to brush off her worries, but it was pointless to try to pretend that he felt perfectly well. He gave her a wry smile of surrender.**

**"I'll have the blunt ones, then." He took the small, rounded spade from Daniella's hands, waiting for further instructions. "I just hope it's not fanged geraniums again."**

* * *

His hand felt soft as he brushed hers briefly. Blinking, she shook that thought out of her mind. By Merlin, she was acting like a silly 12 year old!

She realized Professor Sprout had been telling them what they had to do. She looked around, trying to catch up, until she saw a few fire seed bushes behind Sprout.

"Oh…" Her eyes widened. She'd found some potions in their Potions book that needed fire seeds, but she hadn't thought they would really use them so soon. "Awesome," she whispered. "I'll get one for us, you make space on the table," she said, not giving Ezra a chance to argue before she joined a few others in line to get a good specimen.

* * *

**Ezra squinted disapprovingly at the fire seed bush. He had only continued Herbology because his parents had insisted; it would help him with his Potions studies, they said. Each lesson he had to endure, however, made him more and more disagreeable.**

**The heat from the bush was overpowering, and he closed his eyes against it. This was not what he needed right now – if the room had been swimming before, it was doing the breast-stroke across the Indian Ocean by now.**

**"I'm…" he trailed off, preparing to remove himself from his chair and stopping mid-rise to slump unceremoniously onto the greenhouse floor.**

* * *

Daniella had pulled her long hair back in a ponytail to work more easily, but her excited examination of the odd looking plant was interrupted by the abrupt movement at her side. "Greengrass?" she called, as if watching him collapse in slow motion. Her eyes widened in shock. She took off the thick gloves hurriedly, her heart now clogged on her throat.

What had she done?! A flash of herself packing and being uncerimoniously expelled from Hogwarts formed in her mind against her will. She fell to her knees beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. "Ezra, can you hear me?" And then louder. "Professor Sprout!"

* * *

**"I'm alright," Ezra mumbled groggily, knitting his brows. He was clearly not alright, but he would tell a lot of lies to avoid being shaken in that moment. The commotion, however, had caused Professor Sprout to knock over the fire seed bush she had been pruning; she was now busy extinguishing the resulting flames with her wand. "I just need the Hospital Wing, is all. Bit of bedrest."**

* * *

Daniella looked up at Professor Sprout, clearly distracted, then at the small crowd gathering around them, trying to think, trying to figure out what to do. He was clearly not alright, and it was her fault. Madam Pomfrey would realize what had happened quickly enough, and Ezra would know it had been her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for the worst. "I'll go with you," she decided, trying to help him stand again, as a bulky Hufflepuff approached on the other side to help as well.

* * *

**Ezra was only half-awake, but he still managed to feel some disdain at needing to be helped to his feet by a Mudblood. He lifted his arm gently but firmly away from the Hufflepuff, clearing his throat and swaying a bit on his feet.**

**"That's not necessary," he murmured, thoroughly embarrassed enough as it was. "I'm fine, like I said. I'll just go rest…."**

* * *

Daniella glared at him. "Seriously?!" If he didn't look like he would collapse again if she gave him as much as a light push, she would've probably done much worse. Letting out an annoyed huff, she thanked the Hufflepuff who looked just as willing to punch him as her, before turning her attention back to Ezra.

"Don't even say another word! You're an idiot, Greengrass," she said, and half-carried, half-dragged Ezra out of the greenhouse.

* * *

**Ezra struggled to keep up with Daniella's pace, but as per her command, said nothing in protest. He realized in that moment through his dulled senses that they were very, very close together. And alone. Something burned in his chest that had nothing to do with noxious potion vapours.**

**"I had no idea you could be so protective of your fellow housemates," he purred, half-smirking.**

* * *

"I'm not-" Daniella pressed her lips together. Soon enough he wouldn't be talking to her so smoothly anymore. "I'm not," she repeated, leaving it at that, not sure what she even meant by it. She was finding it difficult to focus on what should be her priority right now.

"I really wanted those fire seeds, you know." She added with annoyance, just to have something to say.

* * *

**Ezra saw that his jab had succeeded, and resumed his amused silence. The Hospital Wing was not very far away; after they passed out of the heat and into the magically-regulated cool of the castle, he began to feel much better.**

**"You'll be able to find a new partner if you return now, I expect," he mused, walking with a little more control to the large, wooden doors of the Hospital Wing.**

**"I daresay if you aren't being protective, you needn't accompany me any further."**

* * *

Daniella gave him a wicked sideways grin. "Well, it just happens I don't care what you think. I'm going with you to make sure you will not repeat your little '_I'm fine_' stunt on Madam Pomfrey. Then, I'll make sure you do what she tells you to do, and then I will make _you_ help me get those seeds." _Except I'll be kicked out of Hogwarts before that_, she thought to herself.

* * *

**"It's always the tough bargain with you, isn't it?" Ezra mumbled, pushing open the door. Madam Pomfrey rushed over to him immediately, looking them both over and then deciding, apparently, that Ezra looked sickest.**

**"What's ailing you, dear? Come and have a sit on the bed." She turned to Daniella expectantly. "Were you both in Professor Slughorn's class? We've already had one in with vapour inhalation…" She shook her head as though disgusted with the thought. "The things they make you children mix up, I swear."**

**Ezra looked over to see Sabrina resting on the other bed, thankfully asleep; he didn't think she would have appreciated seeing him accompanied by Daniella.**

* * *

Daniella swallowed hard, eyeing the door as if it was guarding a dragon. Still, it was better to know what was happening than staying outside and wonder, without a chance to fight back. She followed him inside.

Madam Pomfrey's words weren't what she expected, though. Just like she hadn't expected to find Sabrina in there either. But she wasn't going to let that opportunity pass. Relief made her giddy. "Well, they were partners in class today," she said oh-so-helpfully, her chin pointing in Sabrina's direction. "I think something went wrong with their potion. I feel just fine."

* * *

**"Bless," Madam Pomfrey said under her breath, gently pushing Ezra into a lying position on the bed. He looked slightly embarrassed; he had been so busy staring at Daniella that he, the most talented male potioneer now that Severus Snape had graduated, had landed himself and his partner in the Hospital Wing. It was completely unacceptable.**

**"Well, dear, if you're feeling fine, you can go back to class; I'll take care of your friend. You can come back and visit him during free period if you like." Ezra gave the woman a long, blank stare, then smirked insufferably.**

* * *

"Oh…" Daniella murmured, sneaking a quick glance at Ezra. "I… alright," she said, slowly turning to leave.

She didn't want to leave. Who knows what he'd say in her absence? She needed a reason to stay, just in case. She smiled to herself, her back already turned to them.

She swayed a little, bumping against one of the empty beds with a satisfyingly loud thud. She lowered her head, covering her face with her hand, as if she was trying to regain her balance.

* * *

**"Bed," Madam Pomfrey said curtly, putting a hand on Daniella's shoulder and guiding her to the bed next to Ezra. "Secondhand inhalation is still inhalation; potion vapours can get caught in robes, you know! You can absorb them through your skin."**

**She hurried over to a small rolling tray with unidentified bottles on it and poured a little bit of the thick, purple liquid into a cup. She handed it to Ezra.**

**"Since you were directly exposed, though, I want you to drink this. It'll make you a bit sleepy, but it'll clear those nasty fumes right out of your system." Ezra sniffed the purple liquid; it smelled like a cross between licorice and something odd he couldn't identify. He must have looked skeptical, because the Healer felt the need to encourage him. "Go on, drink up!"**

* * *

Daniella quietly climbed onto the bed, hoping she wouldn't have to drink anything. She really didn't want to spend the rest of the day sleeping. She still didn't believe how lucky she'd been that Ezra had messed up his potion, disguising the effects of her own charm.

She tried not to look too satisfied, but not too sick either until Madam Pomfrey was out of sight. "You heard her," she whispered, a little tauntingly, to Ezra. "Drink all of it."

* * *

**Ezra held his nose and downed the contents of the cup, making a face as it slid down his throat. He set the cup onto the bedside table, giving Daniella a sly sideways glance.**

**"How flattering," was all he had time to murmur before the fast-acting potion hit him like a brick wall. He inhaled deeply and rested his head on the pillow, falling asleep as peacefully as if he had been doing it for hours.**

* * *

Alone with her thoughts at last, Daniella studied his face, the strong features, the smallest hint of a smile on his lips. She allowed herself to wonder about the real reason she'd stayed. He was handsome, she couldn't deny that. He could be very charming when he wanted, just as easily as he could be a jerk towards people he thought of as inferior to him. All of the above drove her mad – and not always in the bad way.

She didn't forget why he had approached her at first either. But, it was just like the saying: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Yes, she could play that game too. And it wouldn't be any effort, if she was honest with herself.

She didn't want to be caught staring at him, so she took the black empty notebook and a quill out of her bag.

«_I did it, Jo._»

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah slid quietly into the library, running a distracted hand through his hair. Studying for Charms was never a bad idea, he figured; if he didn't start now, he would be angry with himself for wasting all of this free time. He looked around for an empty table, but what he found instead made his heart jump into his throat.**

**It wasn't rare to see Quidditch players in the library, but usually it was the night before exams… and their eyes were baggy and they smelled of firewhiskey. Noah, however… well, there he was. Pored over something or other. Being deliciously attractive and… oh, Merlin! Josiah scolded himself.**

**He was never going to get any studying done at this rate.**

* * *

Noah rubbed his face with his hands, annoyed. He looked at the schedules lined up in front of him, then at his own notes and the first draft of a practice schedule for the team. He really hoped he could find their new Keeper in a fourth or fifth year student. He really didn't need any more restrictions in the schedules.

At least he had been able to schedule the Quidditch field for the try-outs in the next weekend. The sooner they had all the team members sorted out, the better. He raised his eyes for a moment, looking around at the nearly empty library, and the few people he'd found were mostly Ravenclaws. No one else would study in the first day of school.

Lost in those thoughts, he wasn't surprised to find Josiah standing there. He grinned over at the other boy. "Starting early this year, aren't you?"

* * *

**Josiah wondered briefly if Noah could tell that he was hot all over; was he blushing? Was it bad? He pushed the thought out of his mind – it would be even worse to space out for a minute after being asked a question.**

**"Not as early as you, apparently!" He said with a small, shy smile in return. Taking the conversation as an invitation to sit, he put his things on the other side of the table and lowered himself into a chair.**

**"Schedules?" He said knowingly, examining the scattered papers all over the table.**

* * *

"Yeah," Noah nodded. "I definitely won't be studying any time soon," he admitted. "Which I know will get me in trouble, so don't give me the speech," he teased.

He wasn't sure when it had become so easy to talk to Josiah, since they had never been close before. "I just need to make sure I have these figured out as soon as possible, before the other teams start reserving the field. And we're opening the games too, so…"

* * *

**Josiah smiled indulgently, momentarily shipwrecked in the other boy's eyes. He had never seen eyes that blue before… perhaps he had just never looked that closely.**

**"There's plenty of time for the speech later," he conceded. "I can help you if you like. If it takes up too much time, you won't have time for much of anything at all, will you? And all those girls who follow you will be very disappointed," he teased back, but the heat crept up his face again.**

* * *

Noah grinned, relieved. "Thank you! That would be great! I have no method, or so I'm told, so it's always a mess."

His grin wavered a little; he looked at the door before he could help it. "Don't even start… I think that's the best thing about this library. They usually don't follow me here. Don't take me wrong," he added quickly, "the enthusiasm is great and it motivates the team, but…" he shrugged. "It's a little too much, to be honest."

Heat crept up to his ears as he braced for the teasing. His friend Shawn always mocked him for not taking advantage of the attention.

* * *

**"Sure," Jo murmured, still smiling, picking up a few schedules and leafing through them quickly.**

**He tried to suppress his delight at Noah's reaction, and mostly succeeded. He followed the boy's gaze to the door and then looked back sympathetically.**

**"Have you been to the Prefect's bath yet? It's always very peaceful in there; you'll like it, I'm sure." He put a few of the cards in a neat row, then waved his wand, highlighting a few of the free spaces in green.**

* * *

"Not yet. I thought I'd try it out tonight, if I can find it. Rumor has it the tub is huge!" Noah replied, reaching out to stop him from mixing up his schedules, but it was too late. It had taken him long enough to figure out some sort of pattern in them. His protest died as he realized what Josiah was doing, though. "Uh… right. That's actually very helpful. Thanks," he admitted, sheepishly. "I seem to be saying that an awful lot lately."

* * *

**Josiah chuckled lightly, organizing the schedules by year and then by free time.**

**"The boy's Prefect bath has a bigger tub, but the girls' has a wider variety of bubbles," he informed Noah, looking up briefly and then back at the schedules. "There's also a rather flirtatious mermaid in the portrait on the wall who will tell you all about it."**

**He was silent for a moment, switched two of the smallpapers, then nodded decisively to himself.**

**"It looks like you have a free space on Thursday at noon. Only this sixth year will be busy; maybe you can convince her to switch."**

* * *

Noah could only stare, his jaw trying to drop against his will. He'd just made it look so easy. "Seriously, I'm going to keep you forever! You're a lifesaver!" He said excitedly, scratching a few of his notes and adding a few others. His quill stopped suddenly, as he realized what he'd said. Determined not to look up then, he resumed writing down the free periods and who he had to talk into making some changes.

* * *

**Jo was certain that he couldn't have turned any redder, even if someone used a Color Changing Charm on his entire face. He stowed his wand into his robes discreetly, knotted his hands together, and cleared his throat with a smile.**

**"I'm really glad I could help," he said, and his voice came out rather small. "Actually, I…" he realized that he didn't have any non-awkward way to finish that sentence, and so stopped. "Nevermind."**

* * *

Noah busied himself with his notes, but he ran out of things to write quickly. He cleared his throat awkwardly, then looked out the window, not sure what to say. _Well done, Ledger, freak him out so he'll never talk to you again._

A couple of students made their way through the yard and into the castle, then. Squinting, he recognized them as seventh year Slytherins. He focused on the girl for a moment. Actually…

"That Slytherin girl you're always with…" he started, not quite looking at Josiah. "Is she your girlfriend?"

* * *

**"What?" Josiah couldn't stop himself from sounding incredulous, and then he forced out a surprised giggle. "Dan? No, she's… no, we're just friends…"**

**He fidgeted with the edge of his bag nervously, his cheeks still tinged pink.**

**"I've never had a girlfriend."**

* * *

Noah now studied Josiah with poorly disguised curiosity. He raised an eyebrow at him, lowering his voice down to a murmur. "You've never dated anyone? At all?"

* * *

**"I've… well… that's not what I said," Josiah murmured, feeling extremely vulnerable in that moment. He realized that his hands were trembling, but only slightly. He folded them more tightly into his lap. "I suppose you've dated lots of people…"**

**He hadn't meant to sound wistful; he looked off to the side awkwardly.**

* * *

Noah blinked, then finally realized at last what had been left unsaid. His face and ears heated up intensely. "Oh…" he mumbled, then trailed off.

The silence was heavy. He had messed up and wasn't sure how to fix it now. He couldn't help it. A million questions were piling up in his mind, but he didn't dare ask any of them. He realized he really didn't want to push Josiah away now, but he thought he was going to end up doing just that. He'd never been very good at talking about serious things.

"Lots?" He chuckled without humour, avoiding his eyes. "No, not really…"

* * *

**Josiah let the silence linger for a while longer, not sure how to remedy the situation. So, he'd come out to Noah, although not entirely as he had planned… what if he didn't want to even look at him anymore? He looked back down at his hands and then forced himself to raise his head and smile.**

**"Sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot," he said softly. "Um, I can go now, if you want. Good luck with your practice."**

* * *

"No!" Noah said too quickly, reaching out to stop Josiah, his loud voice echoing in the silent library. He looked around, expecting to be hushed or glared at, but they were alone in that section. "You don't have to go," he added more quietly, leaning back again. He met Josiah's eyes, the hurt in them making him feel bad with himself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked… it was none of my business… You can stay, if you want." _Please, stay_, he thought.

* * *

**Noah's abrupt answer caught Josiah off-guard, and he looked up at the other boy with wide, hazel eyes. Then, he laughed as quietly as he could.**

**"You're so nice to me," he mumbled, pulling out the book of household charms that he had bought in Diagon Alley with Dan. "Friends are allowed to ask each other questions without feeling guilty. You shouldn't apologize."**

* * *

"Nice?" Noah chuckled, tension slowly slipping out of him again, although the butterflies in his stomach had come to stay. "I'll make you tell that to my mother yourself, she doesn't believe anyone would ever say that about me."

"Well, I don't think some friends would take some questions that calmly…" he murmured seriously, thinking of some of his housemates. "I'm glad you're not like that."

* * *

**"Yes, nice," Jo confirmed, still smiling reservedly. He had come out to Noah, his crush… and they were still talking. They were still friends. He felt so giddy he might have performed a Cheering Charm on himself.**

**"Do you ask people questions like that often?" He teased, slightly amused as he flipped a few pages into his book.**

* * *

"Noo," Noah shook his head to emphasize his answer. "No." He repeated. Not that he didn't have questions. A lot of them, to be honest. He fell silent, fiddling with the schedules distractedly. This situation was incredibly awkward; he was sure he would have already deflected the subject with anyone else.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" The words spilled out before he could stop them. "Yeah, clearly I ask no questions at all," he mumbled under his breath, alarmed, eyes fixed on his notes.

* * *

**Josiah would have been lying if he said the question hadn't surprised him; asking that sort of question was generally more effort than people went to in order to be polite. He was glad that Noah seemed to be okay with his sexual orientation, but if he knew how he felt about him, then….**

**"No," he said simply, deciding it was best to be honest. "Not for a while now."**

* * *

Noah nodded, his lips firmly shut. He didn't trust himself anymore; he might as well just start digging a hole to hide in, if he kept that up. Even if Josiah said he didn't mind, Noah was sure there would be an invisible line, somewhere, and he didn't want to cross it. The silence stretched again, as he tried to think of a safe, easy subject.

"I'm sure I'll need help studying if I want to not fail very NEWT. But I'll be very busy until we play against Slytherin, next month. You know… it's Slytherin!" His grin was determined. "You'll come and watch the game, right?"

* * *

**"Oh," Jo said eloquently, not sure whether he should be more caught up in the studying or the invitation in that sentence. He grinned instead. "Yeah, of course I will. Actually, I wanted to ask you earlier – do you have a spare Gryffindor support button?"**

**He couldn't help but smile at Noah's enthusiasm; he was almost certain the boy didn't know how cute he was.**

* * *

Noah's eyebrows shot upwards. "You want one?! Uh, I don't have any with me, but I'll get you one, no problem."

He looked at the clock, then picked up his bag, brushed all the schedules into it haphazardly and stood up. "I should get going, I have some people to talk to about the schedules." He threw the bag over his shoulder. "It was nice talking to you," he added, meeting Jo's eyes for a brief moment, before leaving the library.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_Later that evening..._

**«_I'm so sorry I forgot to write! You will not believe the day I've had. First of all, I came out to Noah. Uh, sort of. It was so awkward and yet… not really? It's kind of hard to explain. Anyway, so he knows, and we are still friends. He also asked me if I had a boyfriend; he was so nice about the whole thing. I hope it's not awkward for him and he is just too polite to say so._**

**_Where did you go?! I didn't see you at dinner. I hope dementor-boy didn't corner you or something._**

**_Hope to hear from you soon!_**

**_Love, Jo_»**

* * *

Daniella slipped past the Great Hall, making her way into the dungeons. Most students were still eating, but she wasn't hungry. She'd stayed in the infermary long enough to make sure the Memory charm had worked and would remain undetected. She was also reassured by Madam Pomfrey that Ezra would be just fine, but she was still feeling a little guilty. Not that he deserved it, after all he was following orders from her brother. She'd been forced to do it for the sake of Jo and his family.

She noticed the notebook was glowing inside her bag, so climbed down the stairs two at a time. She got into Slytherin's common room, found an empty couch as far from Sabrina as she could and settled in to read Jo's message and reply.

«_Jo, I'm so happy for you! That's great news! I bet he likes you. I'm calling it now. You two would make such a cute couple!_

_I caught Greengrass after Potions and changed his memory. As far as I can tell, he doesn't remember you or suspects what I did. He did pass out in Herbology, but Madam Pomfrey said it was some nasty vapours from his potion. Sabrina was there too, and they were partners. I can't believe how lucky I got. I thought I was going to be expelled…_

_But everything is fine for now. I'll keep an eye on him, but I think our plan is working. Please, let me know if your parents notice something or someone strange, though._

_I'll see you around!_

_Love, Dan!_»


	6. Fire Seeds

_**Chapter 6 - Fire Seeds**_

**The sun had only been down for about half an hour when Ezra stepped out of the steamy Prefect's bath and into the hallway. He ran a hand over his damp hair, which fell freely over his forehead and temples with the absence of hair potion. Yes, he was feeling much better now.**

**The walk to the dungeons was long but not unpleasant, and he stopped for a moment outside of the common room door to savor his last few moments of solitude. No doubt Sabrina would be behind them, hanging on his every word and fussing, even though he had put her in jeopardy also….**

**His deep, almond-shaped eyes widened slightly with surprise at what he found instead. He took a few soft steps toward Daniella, slumped on the couch and very much asleep. This time, the smile inside of him spread all the way up to his face, and it had nothing to do with his sneaky intentions. He really fancied her, didn't he? How inconvenient in a situation like this….**

**"Were the beds not prepared to your liking?" He said, just loudly enough to retain the softness of his voice, with a smirk.**

* * *

Daniella's dreams were strange and confusing, but that voice sounded far too close to be a dream. Slowly coming back to her senses, she noticed the fresh perfume first, and how much her neck ached a second later. Why was she sleeping all funny?

She opened her eyes. Ezra, the source of the perfume, was standing in front of her looking particularly delicious, his wet hair falling over his forehead, a suspicious smile on his face. Then, she remembered what had happened, why she'd stayed in the common room after everyone had gone to bed… waiting for him.

She sat up on the couch, rubbing her stiff neck, trying to remember what he'd said. She took a long sniff. Why did he smell like that? "Where were you?"

* * *

**Ezra, still thoroughly amused, took the squishy armchair opposite the couch and slouched over with his elbows on his knees.**

**"I stopped in the Prefect's bath before coming in; I wasn't aware that I was… expected."**

* * *

Daniella's hand stopped; she narrowed her eyes at him. She'd been feeling so ridiculously guilty in spite of what Madam Pomfrey had said, and he'd just been enjoying his stupid Prefect bath, after all! Jerk.

Refusing to let him bask in her frustration, she snorted a mocking laugh. "Well, if you mean Sabrina, yeah, she was here for a whole hour or so, but her beauty sleep couldn't wait any longer." She picked up her abandoned bag and stood with as much dignity as she could gather. "Anyway, I'm glad you're back to your smug self again," she said evenly. "You owe me a jar of fire seeds."

* * *

**Ezra saw that she was about to leave, and he reacted instinctively; from a half-seated, half-poised position, he reached forward and gently – so gently! – wrapped his palm around her slender wrist.**

**"I didn't mean Sabrina," he murmured, his eyes flitting back and forth as they searched hers. "Please, stay a while."**

**It was more forward than he had ever been with a woman… in fact, it was the first time he had ever viewed anyone as a woman instead of a girl.**

* * *

Dan's breath caught in her throat at his warm, light touch. She looked intently at the floor, trying to keep her emotions in check, but it proved more difficult than she'd expected. It was all a game, just a game; she couldn't lose control.

Her heart hammered against her chest as she forced herself to meet his eyes. Damn, he looked so irresistible right now! She lowered herself back into the couch, curiosity trampling caution.

* * *

**Ezra released his gentle grip and reached into the pocket of his robes, digging around until he found what he was looking for: two wrapped, only slightly squished pumpkin pasties he had saved from the train ride the day before. He offered her one.**

**"Did you read any of the book?" He asked nonchalantly, unwrapping his and taking a small, cultured bite.**

* * *

Daniella accepted the gift automatically, unwrapping it just to be busy. The simple activity made it easier to think. "Only a few of the poems." She offered him a small smile. "You were very accurate in your reciting. Who is it about?"

* * *

**"Straight to the personal questions, then? If I answer, do I get to ask a question in return?" Ezra murmured, taking another bite of pasty. His tone was playful, but his eyes were serious.**

* * *

Daniella studied him, then took a small bite of her pasty and chewed slowly. She didn't know what he had in mind, but then again, it wouldn't be any fun otherwise. "Maybe," she said noncommittally, but she was smiling now.

* * *

**"It's not about anyone… yet," Ezra replied, giving her a small smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes only slightly. "But I do have my hopes." He paused momentarily, polishing off the sweet and then sucking his finger meticulously.**

**"Do you love him? Your muggle-born… friend."**

* * *

Daniella couldn't look away now if she wanted. "Yes, I do." She said slowly, pausing to see his reaction and to make sure she wouldn't say anything that incriminated Jo. "He was the first friend I made here. He's still my best friend," she explained, emphasizing the last word.

* * *

**Ezra fiddled with the edge of his robes, pondering this carefully worded answer. Friend.**

**"Are we also friends?" He asked softly, the smooth, low tone of his voice contrasting with the silence. The smirk was no longer present on his smooth, angular face.**

* * *

Daniella pondered the question, his serious expression. She thought for a moment about confronting him, but it was too soon. She couldn't trust him. "It depends," she said just as seriously, just as softly. If only she could figure him out... "Is that what you want?" There was a hint of a smile on her lips now. "To be my friend?"

* * *

**For the first time in a long time, Ezra felt the slightest twinge of heat rise in his cheeks.**

**"I -"**

**"Ezra?" A dissonant voice called down from the girls' hallway. "Is that you?" Sabrina, clothed only in a green silk nightgown that fell freely to her knees, came padding barefoot into the common room. "I'm so glad you're alright."**

**Ezra looked her over, resisting the urge to grimace, and smiled politely instead.**

**"Thank you. Forgive me for worrying you." There was silence for several moments, and he rose from the armchair. He turned to Daniella, looking to the side rather than at her face.**

**"Excuse me."**

* * *

Daniella looked over her shoulder at the pale girl standing there like an annoying ghost, anger and distrust etched in her features. She raised an eyebrow at Ezra's reaction and change in his demeanor. It was like the light in his eyes had been dimmed suddenly. It made her even angrier, and she opened her mouth, but the protest died before it started.

It was disappointing. He wasn't happy to see Sabrina, but he'd still jumped out of the armchair as if there was a blast-ended skrewt on it. She stood as well, miffed. She picked up her bag and stormed off to her dorm.

When she passed by Sabrina, she turned slightly. "Yeah. We're so glad you're alright," she said mocking Lady Bored's monotone voice. "Goodnight."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Pokey the house-elf was on a mission, and it was proving to be very difficult. She cradled the jar in her thin, long-fingered hands, waiting for the perfect moment. Young Master had given her specific instructions not to deliver the gift while the Bored Mistress was there. The others were fine, Young Master had said; but not her. And she was very, very lazy.**

**Eventually, though, she rose and gathered her things to have her morning soak in the Prefect's bath, and Pokey sighed in relief. She became visible.**

**"Mistress Daniella!" Pokey squeaked, half-jumping, half-hovering onto the edge of Dan's bed. "Mistress, please wake up!"**

* * *

Daniella woke up suddenly, startled. "What…?" She looked around, searching for her wand, trying to figure out what had woken her up. The bedroom was empty, but something kept pulling at her covers.

She looked at the tiny house-elf hovering there and rubbed her eyes, perplexed. "Who are you?" She'd snuck into Hogwarts' kitchens a couple times before, and that elf clearly wasn't from Hogwarts. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

**"My name is Pokey," the elf replied dutifully. "Young Master Ezra sent me here with a delivery for you."**

**She held out the large, weighty jar at arm's length, clearly struggling to keep it suspended. It was full of fire seeds of the highest quality.**

**"Young Master also told me to give you the message. He says: I hope this is enough."**

* * *

Daniella looked from the elf's expectant eyes face to the jar, then back at the elf. Ezra's house-elf. "He didn't…" She whispered, shaking her head. She took the jar, opened it and peeked inside. It contained real fire seeds, a lot more than she could use in the school year. A smile slowly spread across her face, until it became an amused grin. "He actually did."

Pokey was still staring at her, probably taking note of her reaction to tell her Master. She composed a solemn face. "Thank you, Pokey. And…" she pondered for a moment. "Tell your Master it is indeed enough. I can even share a couple, if they're needed."

* * *

**Pokey nodded definitively, her large head bobbing with such force that she had to hold out her arms to maintain her balance.**

**"I will give the Young Master your message and tell him that you enjoyed your gift." She bowed as valiantly as she could manage, which was not very much aside from the good effort, and disappeared with a sharp crack and a puff of smoke.**

* * *

"Yeah, you do that…" Daniella sighed, after Pokey disappeared. "Give him more ideas than he already has."

She spun the jar in her hands, thinking of what that gesture might mean. She couldn't reconcile the Ezra that she had known for six years, the Ezra that smiled politely, indulging girls like Sabrina in their every whim, the Ezra that saw himself as superior to the rest of world, and this exciting Ezra that was trying – a little desperately, which was adorable in a weird way – to get closer to her, confident and intense.

She looked at the clock on the wall, cursing under her breath. She was going to be late for class. She jumped out of bed, hurrying to get ready.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_A few weeks later_

**Jo felt slightly weird without his robes and badge on, but he tried to give himself a confident smile in the mirror. It fell slightly flat, looking more like a shy lip twitch. Merlin's beard, he was so nervous.**

**Of course, he had not formally asked Noah to Hogsmeade, and Noah had not formally asked him… but they would meet for a butterbeer, he was sure of it. And maybe, if he hung around the steps long enough, he would be able to catch a glimpse of him and Noah would call him over….**

**With this thought in mind, Josiah stashed his wand in his pocket and hurried down the stairs.**

* * *

Noah had planned to gather the whole team today in Hogsmeade. The first game was next week and they were all excited and determined to start the season with a win, but he wanted to make sure everyone was getting along well.

Their new keeper was very promising, but the fifth year boy was still a little awkward around them, and that was, in Noah's opinion, a bad sign. So, gotten the boy personally and taken him to the gates to meet with the rest of them, and the loud group headed towards the Three Broomsticks.

But now, after a couple hours of pep-talks and fooling around in the village, he was craving peace and quiet. Shawn, his best friend, elbowed him. "Our captain is awfully quiet today! Don't worry, Noah, we'll hunt some Slytherins for you next week!" he gave Noah a teasing push. The rest of the group cheered. "We should take him to Zonko's for a good laugh!"

Noah grinned at them. "I'm sure you will, but I'll be the one sending them to Madam Pomfrey!" He looked around, proud of his group. But he still wanted peace and quiet right now. "You guys go ahead. Make our nervous keeper laugh, he needs it the most. I'll stay a while and meet you later."

They teased him, as he knew they would, but proceeded along the path.

Anna stayed behind, and now approached Noah, studying him curiously. "Is something the matter?" As Noah gave her nothing but a puzzled look, she insisted, resting a hand on his forearm. "You've been different, these past few weeks..."

Noah shook his head and rested his hand on top of hers, but didn't quite meet her eyes. "Thank you, but I'm fine. Just anxious. You know how much this game means to me." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Go ahead, Anna. I'll catch up with you later."

She didn't look convinced, but shrugged and followed the others, leaving Noah alone with his troubling thoughts.

* * *

**Josiah saw the Gryffindor team pass him by, then turned around to see Noah, alone, walking along the path.**

**"Hey," he called rather breathlessly with a smile. "I thought you guys were going together?"**

* * *

Noah looked over at the call. He stopped, waiting for Josiah to catch up with him, a lopsided grin on his face before he realized it. "Hey! Hmm, we did. But now I just needed to be able to hear my own thoughts for a while. And they're probably tired of my speeches by now," he shrugged sheepishly. "They'll be fine by themselves for a while."

The air was brisk, a clear sign that the sunny days were over. He slipped his hands into his pockets as he studied Josiah. "I was going for a butterbeer. Do you want to come?"

* * *

**"Sure," Josiah agreed, relishing the feel of the cool wind against his slightly pink cheeks. He looked over at Noah to find that Noah was looking at him, and he half-smiled and looked away again.**

**"Hey, did you bring me a button?" He asked with mock-disappointment. "How am I going to support Gryffindor properly if I don't have one?"**

* * *

Noah felt his ears warming up at Jo's – Josiah, he scolded himself – question. His fingers touched the cold metal in his pocket. He'd had the button for a couple of weeks, actually, but he had felt awkward at the thought of giving it to Josiah in the middle of a Charms class, in front of everyone, and they hadn't had much time to hang out otherwise. So, he'd carried it with him, hoping the right opportunity would present itself.

"Oh!" He said, as if he'd just thought of it – the heat in his ears intensified. He took the shiny red and gold button out of his pocket, holding it up in his open palm. "Yeah, I did promise, after all. Are you sure you want to wear it?"

* * *

**Jo grinned, taking the button gratefully and fiddling with it for a moment before pinning it carefully to his sweater. They passed by a bakery and the smell of warm pastries and delicious sweets was already wafting toward them. Josiah's stomach growled, and he flushed a delicate pink.**

**"Well, if you don't want me to wear it," he teased, lowering his hands into his pockets. "But I really rather like it. I think I'll keep it on all day."**

**They reached the Three Broomsticks, and Jo pushed the door open.**

* * *

Noah wasn't sure it was humanly possible to be upset around Josiah for too long. "You can keep it, then."

He braced a hand on the door, entering the warm pub after Josiah, then closed it behind him. There were a lot of students gathered there, but most of them were younger. He didn't see any seventh year Gryffindors.

"I'll get us something to drink, if you find us a table," he said lightly. He found a free space at the counter, squeezed himself between a few third years and an old, angry looking wizard, and ordered two butterbeers.

He had never been the kind of guy to ponder for too long about… well, about anything other than Quidditch, really. But lately, he found himself thinking of a whole lot of very different things. And, in those moments, he grew tired of his loud housemates, especially because they were starting to notice and tease him about his long silences.

Josiah didn't tease him, though. He didn't even complain about Noah's obsession for Quidditch. He shook himself at that wandering thought. He paid for the butterbeers, took the bottles and walked over to where Josiah was sitting, handing him one and sitting across the table.

* * *

**Jo took the proffered butterbeer and sipped at the rim, smiling at the warm taste and wiping some foam off of his lips with his free hand. He grinned without reason, looking off to the side. He wasn't sure that this village could be any more enchanting than it was today.**

**"So," he said, trying to keep the conversation going. "Tell me about you. What kinds of things do you like? Other than Quidditch, of course," he added with another amused sip.**

* * *

"Other than Quidditch? Uh… Flying?" Noah chuckled with embarrassment. "I'm a pretty single-minded guy," he added sheepishly. "I love sports in general, though, even Muggle sports. But flying… feeling the wind against my face, the ground racing up to meet me… I love that rush," he explained with a dreamy grin.

He pondered for a moment. "I suppose I like pretty much anything that gives me a rush," his eyes met Josiah's then; he quickly looked away. _He must think I'm an idiot, now_, he thought grimly, so he added, "I pretty decent with machines and mechanics. I like to work on my bike."

* * *

**Josiah listened dutifully, nodding and draining his butterbeer all the while.**

**"Do you like boats?" He asked randomly, tracing thoughtless patterns against the bottle with his finger. "Ever since I was young, I've loved being out on a lake right before a thunderstorm. You know, when it's properly windy," he laughed at his own words as though this was preposterous. "Gives me a rush." He was silent for a moment, thinking, then he smiled again.**

**"In a lot of ways I think that getting out and participating is a lot better than just reading about something, but I'm usually too shy to do that."**

* * *

"I've never been on a boat, but you make it sound like the kind of thing I'd love to do. Does your family have one?"

He took another sip, pondering Josiah's last words. "Being out on a boat before a storm doesn't sound shy to me at all. What would you like to try and never had the courage to do?"

* * *

**Josiah blushed a little at this, suddenly aware that he very rarely talked about his family background to anyone except Dan.**

**"My father is a fisherman," he explained. "He had his heart set on me being a fisherman after him, I think," he added with a chuckle. "I tried to explain the wizarding concept of Healing to him but I'm pretty sure he still thinks I'm just going to something like Muggle medical school."**

**He pondered Noah's question then, realizing that he hadn't thought of any particular examples when he had spoken before. He thought about it now, brows knitting just a fraction of an inch.**

**"Riding a broomstick, I suppose," he murmured, feeling embarrassed at this revelation. "Not for Quidditch, just in general… during our introductory Flying lesson, I broke out crying."**

**He giggled at this, his face turning a little red. "I expect that sounds ridiculous to you, but I've always found it a little terrifying."**

* * *

Noah's grin was understanding. "I know what you mean. My grandma still asks me if I'm going to college. My mother says she used to harass her twice as much about it, when she was my age, so I should feel grateful."

"It's not ridiculous," he said seriously. "But you shouldn't give up because of a first bad experience." He hesitated before saying the next words. "I could teach you…"

* * *

**Josiah looked into Noah's eyes, then smiled warmly as he teased a little. "If you find any free time outside of your classes and Quidditch practices, I'll allow that."**

**He examined his empty butterbeer, wondering if it was its previous contents that were giving him the inexplicable warm feeling he now felt, or if that was something else….**

**"So," he began again, although he wasn't completely sure what to say. "Um, thank you for the drink. And the button. I suppose I'm being selfish, keeping you from your lovely teammates for so long."**

* * *

"I'll make time," Noah said, then frowned a little, and added, "after the game."

He looked down at his own bottle, feeling like he was awaking from a weird, but good dream. Reality was calling for him. "Yeah…" He said, fiddling with the bottle. He huffed out a breath. "Yeah, I should find them, before they eat too many candies and get sick before the game." He pushed the bottle away. "Thanks for being selfish," he smirked teasingly. "And don't let them hear you calling them lovely. They may just become even louder to prove you wrong!"

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra adjusted his arm as slightly as he could. Sabrina was clinging to it rather tightly, and they both looked up at the Shrieking Shack with relative disinterest.**

**"I thought it would be scarier," Sabrina murmured lowly as she attempted to cut off Ezra's circulation. He offered a pensive hum in reply.**

**The crisp autumn wind whipped at them for a few brief moments, and some dry leaves crackled across the street around them.**

**"Ah," Ezra said, as though he had just remembered something important. "I was going to buy a new set of quills. The butterbeer will have to wait, I fear. Permit me to catch up with you in an hour or two?" Sabrina knitted her brows slightly, but nodded and said nothing.**

**"I'll miss you," she said flatly, and he watched her walk away.**

* * *

Daniella walked out of Zonko's and into the brisk wind, unwrapping a Sugar Quill as she made her way up the street, not sure what to do with herself. Usually she would just hang out with Jo, but today she was bored, bored, bored. Maybe she could explore the Shrieking Shack… She already knew the rest of the village quite well, after all.

Turning in that direction and stuffing the Quill into her mouth, she looked up… and stopped in her tracks. She narrowed her eyes just a fraction. "Aren't you missing something?" She asked loudly enough so that Ezra could hear her. "Or someone?"

* * *

**Ezra looked back at her with an unreadable expression, then raised one eyebrow.**

**"Not anymore, it would seem." He turned back to the derelict house and moved his hand around a few times, attempting to regain feeling into it. "The restless spirits appear to be out for the weekend."**

* * *

Daniella offered a teasing smile. "Maybe you scared them away." She walked over to the fence, looking at the decrepit building. "Maybe we should go inside and hunt them down." She turned her head to look at Ezra. "Unless Lady Bored is waiting. You wouldn't want to make her unhappy, would you?"

* * *

**Ezra made no indication that he heard her suggestion, but he took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the locked, boarded front door. His face was a mask of concentration, and he swished his wand greatly.**

**"No use," he murmured, stowing it away again with a wry smile. "It's been very well protected. May I interest you in a drink instead? In the Hog's Head, should you wish to avoid Lady Bored. I believe she is waiting in the Three Broomsticks to ambush me again."**

* * *

Daniella was a little disappointed at not being able to check the abandoned building, but she gave Ezra an approving smile. "The Hog's Head sounds perfect, then!" Especially now that he looked more like the intense, dangerous Ezra, instead of that dimmed version that paraded around attached to Sabrina.

She finished her Quill and slipped her now freezing hand into her pocket, starting back down the street to the dirty looking pub.

"Do you actually like her?" She asked after a while, looking sideways at him. "Do you have fun with her?"

* * *

**"Sabrina?" Ezra murmured offhandedly, taking a moment to examine his short and well-manicured fingernails. "We grew up together." It was neither negative nor affirmative, and he thought this was the safest option.**

**"You should understand the concept of being surrounded by people you do not necessarily care for."**

* * *

"Oh, I do understand it very well," Daniella said in a low, serious voice. "I understand the role that is expected we assume. I also understand how much it costs, sometimes," _or how hard it can be to oppose it_, she added to herself. She stopped in front of the door to the Hog's Head and searched his eyes, a defiant light in hers. "And I don't care. I'll fight as hard as I can to make my own decisions."

* * *

**_How much it costs._ Ezra repeated those words in his mind, and looked away at this hand, which was resting on the doorknob.**

**"Being here with me, then," he said quietly before looking up at her once more. "Is your decision?" He pushed the door open a few cracks and the heat drifted out to meet them.**

* * *

_That was a dangerous move, Ezra_, Daniella thought. She stepped forward and pushed the rest of the door open. "Yes, it is." When they were inside, she asked quietly, "Is it yours as well?" She wasn't sure she wanted the answer to that question, though.

* * *

**Ezra gave her one of his trademark smirks, following her into the small, rather shady looking building.**

**"Just because I'm more bound to tradition than you doesn't mean I am… easily led." He paused for a moment, offering to take her coat. "For the record, that means yes."**

* * *

Daniella looked at his outstretched hand. Bound to traditions? She wondered if it wasn't more of a shield for him. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to see what was he was hiding so fiercely behind that shield. "That is a relief," she said, teasingly, reminding herself she couldn't trust him. "There is hope for you, still."

She took off her coat and handed it to him. "So, what can we drink in this place?"

* * *

**Something about her words tugged at Ezra, like an invisible crackle of electricity between them that he couldn't look away from. His lips twitched into more of a smile and less of a smirk.**

**"Only the absolute finest firewhiskey in Wizarding England," he replied, shedding his coat and hanging them both on the rack behind the booth that he motioned to. "The first one is on me. I'll even go to the effort of sanitizing your mug." He paused, raising a curious eyebrow.**

**"Unless you are morally opposed to the consumption of hard liquor."**

* * *

"Not at all! Firewhiskey is fine, especially in a clean mug." She sat and remained silent until their drinks arrived and the bartender walked away again. She took a generous gulp, relishing the burning sensation. "You still owe me an answer." She looked at him, the smirk on her face now sneaky. "Remember?"

* * *

**Ezra slid into the booth, taking a long, deep swig of the firewhiskey. The mugs here were much smaller, which might have been a small blessing; if they were any larger, he still probably wouldn't have felt any need for restraint. Daniella was right. Forcing himself to stay by Sabrina's side because of his parents' fondness of her took a deep toll on him.**

**He blinked exaggeratedly and exhaled before sipping again. The burn at the back of his throat was marvelous.**

**"I haven't the foggiest what you mean," he lied transparently.**

* * *

Daniella smiled into her mug. She took her time swirling the liquid and taking another drink, nearly emptying it. A barmaid quickly came to refill their mugs. She was curious about what his answer would be – very curious to see how far she could tease him, and how much of a real reaction she could get out of him – but she wasn't about to look desperate.

"You asked me if we were friends," she said at last. Her fingers closed more tightly around the mug as she locked eyes on his. "And I asked if that's what you wanted. To be my friend."

* * *

**"Ah, yes, I remember now," Ezra murmured, returning her smile. "Yes… I remember, and I'm still not drunk enough to answer. Excuse me." He took another long swig, then rubbed at his watery eye.**

**"You are quite persistent," he noted, drumming his fingers absentmindedly on the edge of the table. "Often I rather think that is one of your most… infuriating, feverishly attractive qualities. Your persistence."**

* * *

Daniella huffed with mock-outrage. "Not _drunk_ enough?!" She shook her head. "Aren't you charming?"

She drank again, just to hide the pleased smirk at the compliment. Dangerous. This was such a dangerous game, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. "Good chess players need persistence, as well as patience. And I can be very patient."

* * *

**Ezra snorted into his mug, his first slip-up of decorum signifying that his inhibitions were slowly waning. He laughed openly, a smooth, well-measured chuckle that barely befitted a properly-raised pureblood boy.**

**"Quite," he agreed with her sentiment. The pub was strangely warmer now, and he reached up his free hand to pull the crisp collar of his shirt away from his pink-flushed neck. He raised a single hand into the air, and the short, pudgy barmaid came to refill their mugs again. He sipped.**

**"A good chess player is also decisive," he murmured, searching her eyes with his own.**

* * *

Daniella blinked, mesmerized by the change in his face when he laughed; by the sound of it. It gave her butterflies. His lips looked so red and inviting… She licked her lips, then took another long sip of the mug before remembering it wouldn't help cool down the heat burning inside her at all. But now that his defenses were starting to tumble down, she couldn't help exploring a little further.

"True," she said softly as she put the mug back down and leaned forward a little. He was close enough that she could breathe in his perfume when he moved. It wasn't close enough. "When the time is right. A move made too early might ruin everything."

* * *

**Ezra looked down at his mug, which had so little remaining that it was pointless to waste the effort to lift it into his mouth. He rested his chin on a folded hand, his relaxed, deep brown eyes lingering on her… the beautiful, exciting, persistent woman that was Daniella Hawke.**

**"Follow me," he murmured, although the bite of order in his voice was no longer present. He reached over to grab their jackets, holding hers outstretched. "I want to show you something."**

* * *

Daniella eyed him curiously as she took her jacket and slipped into it, feeling way too warm in it. The room swayed a little when she got on her feet. She kept a hand braced against the table; she hadn't realized how strongly the firewhiskey had hit her. Maybe she shouldn't have drunk on a nearly empty stomach.

When everything stopped spinning, she followed Ezra out of the pub. The brisk air helped her regain enough of her senses to realize what he had in mind, but not enough to make her finally use common sense. The voice that told her to stop, that this was madness, was far in the back of her mind, so easy to ignore.

She looked at both sides of the street, which was deserted for the time being. "Where are we going?"

* * *

**Ezra led her into a small courtyard between Honeyduke's and Gladrags Wizardwear, stopping in front of a bubbling multi-tiered fountain and breathing in the crisp air. He grabbed her arm gently to steady her as well as himself. Then, after making sure nobody was watching them, he pulled down one of the wings of the fountain's cherubs. A small trapdoor opened a few meters away, and he gave her a mischievous look.**

**"Lumos," he said as evenly as he could manage, although he knew he was probably slurring. His wand lit to life, and an underground stairwell came into view. "Ladies first."**

* * *

Daniella took in a few deep breaths, the coolness of the air contrasting with the heat in her chest, making a shiver run down her spine. She gave the fountain a puzzled look, until the trapdoor opened. A secret passage to Hogwarts! Her clear laughter filled the air. "Ezra, you are a rebel, after all!"

His wand only lit the first few steps, but she took her own and lit it as she ventured further down the stairs.

* * *

**Ezra followed her down the stairs with a lopsided grin plastered onto his face. The trapdoor snapped shut behind him, and he shook the light off of the end of his wand with a flick of his wrist. It bounced off of the tip and floated to the low ceiling, hanging there like a perfectly spherical lamp.**

**"I have my moments," he murmured, realizing that he was very close to her once again. This time, he would not shy away. He leaned forward, pressing his face gently into the back of her long, flowing hair. He inhaled deeply. It was exquisite.**

**"I want to be more than your friend," he whispered into her ear, brushing the top of it with his lips.**

* * *

Daniella nearly dropped her wand. The feel of his breath against her skin sent an electric shock sizzling through her nerves. She leaned her head a little to the side, closing her eyes for a second.

"Oh, really?" She asked, more than a little breathless. He was so close now she could feel his body lightly pressing against hers. It still wasn't close enough. She turned around to face him. She licked her lips, watching his. "I hadn't noticed," she whispered back with mocking seriousness.

This was crazy! She was playing with fire. She lingered there for a few heartbeats, struggling with that stupid little voice in her head. Finally, with an urgent exhale, she grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him closer the rest of the way, kissing him at last, closing her fingers on his hair.

* * *

**Ezra was by no means an innocent virgin, and he considered himself relatively adept at matters of passion, even at the tender age of 17. In that moment, however - within that fiercely vibrant firewhiskey kiss - all of his repressed feelings of lust, of desire, of need for something greater, came bubbling forth. The burning permeated every pore, and he leaned in and kissed her more hungrily.**

**"I don't suppose I could trouble you to off with my trousers," he mumbled drunkenly, grinning into her with closed eyes. "I haven't quite got the coordination for it, if you must know."**

* * *

Daniella's brain had fled for a while. As far as she was concerned, the entire world could go to hell, as long as she could keep kissing him. But that damned voice in her head became stronger when they broke apart momentarily. Breathing heavily, she forced her hands open on his chest, pushing him not very gently back against the wall. Bits of dirt crumbled off of the wall around him.

She closed her eyes, not willing to let go just yet. But she had to. She had to. She didn't trust him, couldn't trust him. "No…" she managed to say, almost pleading with herself. "Not here…"

* * *

**Ezra exhaled slowly, the heat in his body settling, stagnating. He had never been rejected in the moment before, so vulnerable, so sure. It hurt. The pain was a breath of fresh air. He straightened himself, then smirked, although it was more of a wistful half-smile.**

**"My offer awaits your invitation," he murmured. "I'll be excused."**

* * *

Daniella's hand closed to a loose fist on his jacket, frustration and desire warring inside of her. "If only I saw that fire in your eyes when you're sober," she murmured quietly. The slight physical distance helped her regain some of her senses. She reluctantly withdrew her hand. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to hit him or kiss him again.

She forced herself to take a step back. "I'll see myself to the castle," she murmured, not quite able to look him in the eyes. "You have your own obligations to attend to."


	7. Gryffindor vs Slytherin

_**Chapter 7 - Gryffindor vs Slytherin**_

**Josiah pinned the small gold and scarlet button to his school robes, adjusting his blue and brown woolly scarf so that it did not obscure Noah's gift. He charmed it in place just to be sure; people could knock Witch Weekly all they liked, but as far as Jo was concerned, they were tops when it came to practical wardrobe and… well… other spells.**

**He exhaled slowly, pursing his lips as he ran his hands over his torso. He always gained weight this time of year, how unflattering…. He thought of all the skinny, rather objectively attractive fangirls that Noah had accumulated, and he furrowed his eyebrows.**

**Pushing the thought out of his mind, he climbed down the staircase, out of the common room door, and to the portrait which revealed a shortcut to the ground floor.**

* * *

Noah had barely gotten any sleep last night. This was it! All that he had worked for, for the last five years came down to this game; a game that could change his life forever.

He had done everything he could, the best way he could – especially with Jo's help – but none of it would matter if Gryffindor didn't win the Cup this year. He leaned over the sink and washed his face fiercely, then looked up at his reflection. The blue pair of eyes that stared back at him looked tired, but determined. He huffed out a breath.

He checked his bag to make sure everything was in there, got dressed, threw the scarf around his neck and left the bathroom to meet the rest of the team at breakfast.

* * *

**Josiah was nearly finished with his breakfast when he saw Noah come in, looking a bit paler than usual but determined. The other boy didn't see him yet, but he smiled anyway.**

**Rising, he brushed the crumbs off of his front and made his way over to the Gryffindor people, where everyone was donned in gold and scarlet and chattering excitedly. He touched Noah gently on the shoulder with his fingertips and leaned down to get a good angle at his ear.**

**"Good luck," he said, grinning. "You'll be great." He fumbled for his wand momentarily, finally getting a good grip on it and sending red and gold sparks into the air like fireworks. They whizzed colorfully, and several people cheered before they fizzled away.**

* * *

Noah rested a hand on Shawn's shoulder when he sat next to him. They'd been friends since their first year, and joined the Quidditch team at the same time, in their third year. "How's that sight today?" He asked, grinning. "We need your eyes!"

Then, he looked over at the Keeper and his still clean plate. "Hey, you know the drill. Eat something light."

He served himself of a generous dose of eggs and bacon. The others needed to be fast; Beaters, on the other hand, needed to be strong. Students passed by them, stopping briefly to cheer, except for the Slytherins, but he barely heard them.

He did turn around when a hand touched his shoulder. His grin came immediately; the fireworks made him chuckle. "Thanks! I'm excited!"

* * *

**Josiah smiled, looking around at the rest of the team, who did not look quite as happy to see him as Noah did. He was happy for them anyway, and he took a small step back, adjusting his button again.**

**"I'm going to go down to the pitch early; I want good seats!" He informed Noah before slipping out of the Great Hall and heading down to the Quidditch stadium.**

* * *

Noah couldn't remember those last few minutes before the game. He remembered the moment just before they entered the field to be noisily greeted by the crowd; remembered his teammates around him, the nerves making the air heavy and tense; remembered shaking the hand of Slytherin's captain, snorting dismissively at his weak provocation.

He didn't remember what he'd told them then, barely remembered getting on his new Nimbus 1000 he'd bought last summer with his savings and a little help from his mother. He didn't forget the investment she'd made on his dream, and he wasn't about to let her down. But, uninvited, a different thought kept sneaking to the front of his mind. There was someone else he wanted to impress today.

The whistle was blown. The players left the ground. The cheering of the crowd disappeared. Everything disappeared to Noah, except the nasty Bludgers and the green and silver shadows flying by.

He flew close to the Keeper for the first few minutes, sending the other Beater to help the Chasers; Shawn was quick and agile, he could take care of himself for now. He wanted to make sure their Keeper wouldn't panic, but the boy had had a good start. He shouted an incentive and started flying further away.

The game was very close, and the Seekers had taken off chasing something for a couple times already. Noah started flying closer to Shawn; his shoulder was starting to feel sore from hitting the Bludgers; this game had to be over soon.

The crowd grew louder. He looked over his shoulder. The Keeper had let in two goals in a row. Slytherin was ahead with 130 to 100.

"Come on, Shawn! Finish this!" he shouted upwards. Shawn looked down at him, but whatever he was going to say was left unsaid. He saw his gaze sharpen and tensed in response. A fraction of a second later, Shawn was speeding down towards him. Noah had just enough time to push his broomstick out of the way.

He turned swiftly after Shawn flew by, to make sure he'd have a clear path. The Slytherin Seeker had seen the Snitch too, since he was flying at full speed. There was no Bludger close by, but Noah flew better than any Slytherin, any day.

He sped straight to the Slytherin Seeker. He gave him a lopsided grin as he saw the other boy's eyes widening. He turned in the last possible moment to avoid making a foul, but he'd made him hesitate long enough to buy Shawn a couple of seconds.

Shawn made a sudden turn to the left. The Snitch was now a lot closer to the Slytherin Seeker. "Damn!" His fingers tightened around the club. He sped forward; found what he needed. A Bludger was coming towards his head. He pulled his arm back, turned his Nimbus a few inches and glanced at the Seekers, trying to predict their movements.

The impact of his club on the Bludger made his whole arm vibrate, but he put all his fury, all his strength and determination into it.

The Bludger missed the Slytherin Seeker by a couple inches, but he nearly fell off his broomstick trying to avoid it. Shawn made the final dive, hand reaching out and closing around something.

A second later, he pulled his broomstick up and waved his arm wildly, showing off the golden _Snitch_.

* * *

**Josiah had never lost control during a Quidditch game like he did that day. He jumped at every close call, tensed excitedly with every save, cheered loudly (well, for him!) at every goal. It was like Quidditch was a totally different sport from the one he had watched last year, and all because….**

**At the thought of Noah, Jo realized that he would be heading to the locker room now. It would be crowded with Gryffindors if he didn't hurry, and he wouldn't be able to congratulate him properly on his win.**

**Pushing through the crowd with slightly more force than he felt was polite, he rushed down the steps and onto the field, then around the back of the stadium to the outside of the Gryffindor locker room.**

* * *

The small crowd dressed in gold and scarlet got to the locker room before the team. When the seven of them approached, they were immediately submerged by students. There were cheers and pats on the back and even the occasional attempt at a kiss. Without him knowing exactly how, a bottle of firewhiskey was pushed into Noah's hands, but he only had time for a quick sip before Shawn snatched it away.

Shawn seemed delighted with all the attention. Noah joined the celebration, but couldn't help feel a twinge of disappointment. Someone was missing. After a little while, he raised his hand and said, loud and clear, "Hey, why don't you all go ahead to the Gryffindor's common room? The party will be there, we'll join you in a bit!"

He took his time in the shower, delaying the moment he would have to come out again, savouring that delicious moment by himself. They'd won. They'd actually won! Dizzy with excitement, a huge grin still stuck on his face, he got off the shower. The others were mostly ready.

"I'll meet you guys there!" He said. "Go celebrate, you deserve it!"

* * *

**Josiah watched the crowd of Gryffindors come and go, squinting into the uniformed players to see if Noah was among them. He wasn't. After the frenzy had died down a bit, he decided it was safe to poke his head into the locker room for the first time.**

**He loosened his scarf and folded it neatly, pushing it into one of the many inside pockets of his robes. It was muggy in the locker room, and smelled of sweat, which Jo hadn't expected to be so… enticing. He stepped cautiously around the corner, where he was able to see the showers, and that's when he saw Noah naked.**

**Well, no, not completely naked – but mostly naked, for what it was worth, and under the towel, definitely, almost certainly naked. Josiah jerked his head away and looked up at the ceiling, flushing a deep scarlet that had nothing to do with Gryffindor pride or the heat. Flushing in places that would have been really awkward if he hadn't had his robe on….**

**"Um, congratulations," he murmured in a small voice which seemed to almost disappear in the cloud of steam.**

* * *

Noah had been distracted replaying the match in his mind when _that_ voice – it made his heart leap awkwardly – interrupted his thoughts. He looked up.

"Jo! Did you see it?! We won! I can't believe I won my first match as Captain!" He was so ridiculously happy, he started moving towards Josiah, stopping himself after a couple of steps, when he remembered he wasn't exactly decent. His hand reached for his towel automatically, as if to make sure it was still in place.

Jo was looking pointedly at the ceiling, looking very embarrassed – looking so tempting. Noah felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch him, so intense his breath caught. His breathing quickened, the adrenalin of the game still running through his veins, though it was turning into a different kind of rush; a different kind of heat. Confused, he hesitated.

* * *

**"I saw," Jo confirmed, grinning widely, slowly lowering his gaze to Noah's again. He was still only in the towel… his face flushed horribly again, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. Those muscles… firm, but fleshy, strong and also comforting. There was a flash in his mind, almost as vivid as real life, of those muscles on top of him….**

**"Um," he said awkwardly, in an attempt to interrupt his own thoughts. "So, yeah, I… I'm really proud of you." He pulled his robe away from his body slightly, trying to escape the now nearly-suffocating heat. His grin had faded into a shy smile.**

* * *

Noah was a pretty single-minded person. He couldn't help it, there was only one thought in his mind now, a thought that had slipped into the back of his mind for some time whenever he lowered his guard. He tried to, but he couldn't shake it off. And Jo was right here in front of him. Alone.

His legs moved before he made a conscious decision. He couldn't hide his reaction anymore than he could stop himself. He leaned over and covered Jo's lips with his, pulling him into a fierce kiss, his whole body burning with a hunger he'd never felt before for anyone.

* * *

**Jo had about three seconds to prepare for the kiss that was coming, and he attempted to be as receptive as he could possibly be while also being incredibly shocked – in the good way. He put one hand behind Noah's head, on the nape of his neck, savoring the feel of the flesh there. More importantly, however, his other hand cautiously drifted down… tracing the muscles of his chest, the bristly hair at his pelvis… and released the loose fold on the towel. It fell to the floor.**

**"Are you sure?" He whispered up at Noah. This was merely a formality, a precaution. Heart insurance.**

* * *

Noah could barely remember how to form words. "Yeah… No… Yes," he pushed Jo against the lockers. "Yes."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Sabrina clutched the small, ornately wrapped package, walking at her usual slow pace into the common room. She saw no one, save a couple of first years and… Daniella Hawke. Her heart gave a jump that perhaps might have been anger, if she had not stifled it for so many years. She walked over to the girl and stood pointedly, her face expressionless.**

**"Have you seen Ezra?" She asked, not feeling the need to elaborate further.**

* * *

Daniella looked up from her parchment slowly, glancing around to make sure the question had been directed at her. Since when did Sabrina bother to speak to her?

She was trying to finish all the homework she'd been avoiding for the past week, she had little patience for someone as annoying as Sabrina.

Putting down her quill, Daniella sighed loudly, then said, "Let me see…" she looked around, searched her pockets with exaggerated care, then peeked under the desk. When she looked up at Sabrina, she gave the girl a mocking shrug and a wicked grin. "Sorry, I didn't keep him. I'm surprised you let him out of your sight long enough to actually lose him."

* * *

**Sabrina gave the other girl a long, hard stare. The only clue that her patience was being tested was a small twitch at the corner of her mouth.**

**"Very well," she replied flatly, before turning to stalk out of the common room and into the hallway. At this gesture, Ezra peeked his head out from behind a large, black suit of armor which he had been hiding behind. He stepped out from behind it and straightened his vest as though this were perfectly normal behavior.**

* * *

Daniella's gaze followed Sabrina with the same amount of disbelief she'd always felt towards the girl. How was it possible to be that… empty? She made a face and a shoosh motion at the girl's back and picked up her quill again, trying to focus once more.

Just then, Ezra showed up from behind the armor. Daniella snorted out a laugh. "You know, you shouldn't keep her looking for you for very long," her voice was full of sarcasm as she looked back down at her homework. "The girl seemed _devastated_ by your absence."

* * *

**Ezra raised both of his eyebrows and gave Dan a wry smirk, lowering himself into an armchair nearby.**

**"I'll be forgiven," he drawled. Not wanting to dwell too long on the circumstances, he looked out over the green-black lake through the windows, through which the sun was visible.**

* * *

Daniella's smirk was still sarcastic. "Oh, I'm sure you will."

She looked back down at her Herbology homework when he fell silent, although she kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He was quiet, ever since… She hadn't been sure what to expect of him after they parted like that in Hogsmeade. She'd thought he might be angry, might simply not want to talk to her anymore. She was surprised when he didn't try to force the situation further, and now she was wondering if he'd just distance himself from her. But then again, he couldn't, right? He was supposed to know where she was and what she was doing at all times. His interest in her was of a different nature.

It shouldn't affect her. She'd told herself it didn't, but she was lying to herself. As much as she despised his beliefs and the way he treated other people, she couldn't escape that strange pull she felt towards him.

She stared at the parchment, not really seeing the words anymore. It was useless. Her concentration was gone. "Why was she after you, anyway?" She asked as she tossed her things back into her bag.

* * *

**"I don't suppose she needs a special occasion," Ezra murmured, glossing over the fact that it truly was one. Eighteen already, and how the time was flying...**

**He had instructed Pokey to take all of his luxurious gifts and put them into his room at home so that they wouldn't clutter up his bed space. She had immediately obliged, being the understanding being that she was... sometimes he wondered if even his own mother understood him so well. It was silly, naturally. Of course she didn't.**

**He looked over at Daniella, studying her face. She looked so similar to her brother and yet so different. When Logan's eyes rested on him, he felt the weight of the prejudice inside. Even after all those years as friends, he, too, became a pawn in the end.**

**"Would you like to accompany me on a walk?"**

* * *

Daniella stopped, surprised. She should make an excuse. She looked at him. "Why not? What could possibly be wrong with skipping homework for a few more hours? Let me just get my shoes."

Cursing herself for being so weak, she made her way up to her dorm, to get ready. She brushed her long hair, then wrapped the scarf with the green and silver colors of Slytherin loosely around her neck. She might not like the house and what it represented that much, but she did look good in green. After one last long look at the mirror, she went back to the common room.

"Where are we going?" She asked when she stopped in front of Ezra, waiting.

* * *

**Ezra looked over Dan once more, this time from head to toe, and smiled a small, warm smile, mostly to himself. He had been planning to go alone, but somehow this development was not bothersome to him in the slightest.**

**"I was on my way to the lakehouse," he informed her, holding the door open so she might step through. "It is one of my favorite places in which to think."**

* * *

Daniella walked out, feeling just a little warmer all over. She wasn't particularly vain, but she was definitely not immune to the rush of catching a handsome guy's attention.

"The lakehouse?" She didn't think she'd been there more than one or two times in all her time in Hogwarts. "Sounds lovely," she said, starting up the stairs with him, away from the dungeons. "The perfect place to read good poetry."

* * *

**The wind was a little crisper than he had expected, and Ezra wished momentarily that he had brought his scarf, too. No matter, though; just as well that he should be slightly uncomfortable on the arguably most celebrated day of his life.**

**"You've been reading them, then?" He asked, trying not to sound as flattered as he was. They approached the small, glass-walled building, and he unlatched the door with a long squeak. It had grown even colder inside, and his breath made a cloud of steam before him. He withdrew his wand, procuring a small blue flame from the end of it, which he suspended near a worn-out looking bench. Waves of warmth rolled outward to meet them.**

* * *

Daniella settled in the bench, reaching out to warm her hands near the flames, before answering. "Yes, I have. I've finished it, actually."

They could see the lake all the way to the other margin through the large window. It really was a nice place, although it was probably nicer in the spring. "You have good taste." She turned her head just enough to look at him. "Both in books and places to think."

* * *

**"And have you decided on a favorite?" Ezra inquired, looking over at her with his deep, pensive brown eyes. The cold had tinged his pale cheeks a light pink. He held his wand loosely in his right hand, elbows resting on separated knees, looking out over the water.**

**"Careful, you make it sound as though you're enjoying my company," he murmured amusedly.**

* * *

Daniella gazed at the fire, moving her fingers a little closer, until the heat made her retreat. She kept telling herself she was doing this to gather information and make sure Jo and his family would be alright, but she was fooling herself. She _wanted_ to be near him. She wanted to make him step out of his shell, wanted to…"

She braced her hands on the bench at her sides at his words. "I think I'm doomed, then," she murmured, mostly to herself.

"A few of them, actually…" She said after a while, deciding it was probably safer to focus on the safer subject. She only remembered one of the poems accurately enough, though. She kept her gaze on fire.

_"No doubt the ordered worlds speed on_  
_With purpose in their wings;_  
_No doubt the ordered songs are sweet_  
_Each worthy angel sings;_

_And doubtless it is wise to heed_  
_The ordered words of Kings;_  
_But how the heart leaps up to greet_  
_The headlong, rebel flight,_

_Whenas some reckless meteor_  
_Blazes across the night!_  
_Some comet—Byron—Lucifer—_  
_Has dared to Be, and fight!_

_No doubt but it is safe to dwell_  
_Where ordered duties are;_  
_No doubt the cherubs earn their wage_  
_Who wind each ticking star;_

_No doubt the system is quite right!—_  
_Sane, ordered, regular;_  
_But how the rebel fires the soul_  
_Who dares the strong gods' ire!_

_Each Byron!—Shelley!—Lucifer!—_  
_And all the outcast choir_  
_That chant when some Prometheus_  
_Leaps up to steal Jove's fire!"_

* * *

**Ezra sat, mesmerized; he had never imagined he would hear a recitation quite so bold or, frankly, so incredibly attractive to his every sense.**

**"Yes, I can see why you like it," he told her, his voice husky and low. He cleared his throat. Her brother wouldn't have. In fact, he scolded himself, this is exactly the sort of thing that he had been appointed to keep her from doing. But he knew that his heart was already captured, and in any case, he questioned the sanity of whoever had led Logan to believe that Ezra was controllable, predictable, or even trustworthy. Yes, he was indeed a Slytherin, born to do that which was to his benefit….**

**"Have you heard from your brother recently?" He asked, blatantly nonchalant.**

* * *

Daniella's mind had wandered as she recited that poem, like it had when she'd first read it, but Ezra's question snapped her out of her memories. Her expression hardened. "He sends me letters almost every week."

She loved her brother. She'd worshipped him when she was little. And all he had done ever since was disappointing her.

"I haven't bothered to reply." She cleared her throat, cleared the unhappy tone of her voice and tried to smile playfully - not very successfully. "It's no fun arguing through letters."

* * *

**Ezra studied her expression, finding himself still enthralled by it even when it was sour. But her words were what resonated to him the most, because they were disappointed and defensive, and those were feelings that he, too, associated with letters from home… for entirely different reasons.**

**"I see," was all he could say in the time he had to think. "No, it isn't any fun."**

**He searched his own thoughts and found no suitable way out, so he did the next best thing.**

**"Pokey," he said into thin air, and there was a sharp crack where the house elf appeared. He smiled warmly at her, and she curtsied, as per their routine. "Pokey, would you please bring Mistress Daniella and I some cake?"**

**"Of course, Master Ezra! Yes, of course! It is, after all, Master Ezra's special day! The kitchen servants have been very busy on your behalf, sir! I will bring a slice of every flavor."**

* * *

Daniella searched Ezra's eyes. He was suddenly avoiding the subject he'd brought up. If she was ever going to confront him, she wouldn't get a much better opportunity than this. Bring it all out into the light. End the game. Still, something stopped her. She really was doomed.

The loud crack would've startled her if she hadn't met the house-elf before. What made her eyebrows rise was witnessing the exchange between the two. It had been obvious the elf loved her Master, but she hadn't realized… couldn't have guessed Ezra would be so… different. The kind of man she wanted to see more often.

"Special day?" She asked abruptly, eyes narrowing towards Ezra suspiciously. She looked back at Pokey. "What do you mean, Pokey?"

* * *

**"Don't answer that, Pokey," Ezra said dryly, although he was smiling. Pokey gave a nervous half-giggle as she looked between them. The small elf bowed twice, once to each of them, and cracked away again, leaving them alone. She was back in less than two minutes, magically suspending a large plate of cake slices, pastries, and petits fours, as well as two large pitchers of punch and frothy butterbeer. Ezra inclined his head, and Pokey grinned.**

**"Thanks, Pokey," he said softly, grabbing a petit four off of the tray. "Have something for yourself, too, when you get back. Don't let mum work you too hard; tell her I said it's an order." Pokey's eyes watered considerably, and she bowed once more.**

**"You are always kind to Pokey, Master Ezra," she said with a wibble. "Master Ezra has always been a very good boy." With that, she disappeared for the last time. There was silence for a moment.**

**"Please, do help yourself."**

* * *

By the time Pokey disappeared, Daniella was biting her lower lip not to laugh. She cleared her throat twice before being able to look up at him again. "Have you?" She asked in a strangled voice. "Always been a good boy, I mean? It's hard to imagine."

She examined the contents of the tray, picked a pastry and took a small bite. It was delicious. She'd asked the question out of surprise, but it was obvious what the special day was. "Happy birthday, Ezra."

* * *

**"Were you under the impression that I was some kind of raucous terror?" Ezra asked, his mouth full of heavy sweet cream. He wiped the corner of his lips before giving her an amused look. "I've managed to hide all of my unsavory activities pretty well," he informed her. "Stealing away to the Muggle book shop, for example."**

**For the past 18 years of his life, those words had filled him with dread – Happy Birthday, Ezra, here's to another year of you being our good little pawn – but when Daniella said them, they were different. She meant them, and he felt an unsuspecting wave of emotion creep up in his face. He held a prim hand to his chest, as though physically troubled, then swallowed it along with the remains of the dessert.**

**"Thank you," he said quietly.**

* * *

Dan chuckled. "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense," she nodded, then took a petit four from the tray. "Is it being happy so far?" She asked just as quietly.

* * *

**Ezra poured himself a glass of punch, offering her a glass as well.**

**"It's pomegranate," he informed her, swishing the sparkling punch around in the glass before sipping some. "Pokey makes it herself; she goes to India and harvests them personally because she knows it's my favorite." He felt another surge of appreciation for the small house elf.**

**"Yes," he told her, smiling. "Much to my surprise, mind you. Usually they're a nightmare."**

* * *

Daniella accepted the glass and offered a teasing smile. "Yes, I can imagine… having all this delicious stuff to eat and drink around you must be a real torture." The smile didn't last long, though. She knew he wasn't talking about the food.

The words of the poem floated back to the front of her mind. _No doubt the system is quite right!—/ Sane, ordered, regular_. _And crippling_, she added to herself, looking at his troubled smile.

She didn't know what she could say, but after a long silence, she smiled brightly. "You know, Jo once told me about a Muggle birthday tradition." She wasn't sure if she was just trying to lighten his mood, or challenging him to step outside of his precious chokehold strict traditions. She picked up her wand, took one of the smallest spoons on the tray and transfigured it into a candle. Then, she poked it into one of the slices of cake and lit it.

Picking up the cake slice carefully with a napkin, she held it in front of him. "Blow it and make a wish."

* * *

**Ezra huffed out a half-amused noise that was more of a puff of air than a snort, looking to the side momentarily. He drained the glass of punch, relishing its taste.**

**He raised his eyebrow as she stuck the spoon-candle into the slice of cake and lit it on fire. He gazed at the small, flickering flame so long that it made him squint his eyes.**

**"Am I supposed to make the wish before or after I extinguish the candle you have just lighted?" He asked curiously, the corner of his lip twitching a bit.**

* * *

Daniella sighed patiently, pulling her hands back a little, before he thought to drench the cake or something. "You don't… _extinguish_ it." She said, mimicking his cultured voice. "Just… think of a wish – you can't say it out loud, I think that's important – and then blow the candle, so it becomes truth."

She grinned brightly at him, wiggling the cake a little in front of him, tempting him. "Come on, humour me."

* * *

**Ezra looked politely skeptical, but rolled his eyes to the ceiling in obvious thought. He took one, deep breath, then turned back to the candle and blew on it with a dull '_pfoof_'. A barrage of smoke rose from it, and he pulled his face back with a small cough.**

**He pursed his lips, although happily, and gave her a sarcastic look.**

**"I don't think much of this Muggle magic, to be quite honest. Highly unreliable."**

* * *

Daniella chuckled, satisfied. "Well, they have a…" she paused, thoughtful, "quite romantic vision of magic."

She busied herself taking the candle off of the cake, and offered him the slice, before taking one for herself. "Maybe even a happier vision than we do, sometimes, because it's out of their reach," she mused quietly.

* * *

**"Quite," Ezra murmured in agreement, taking a large bite of the cake. He swallowed, pondered, and then clenched his jaw. He could not keep up this charade, this dishonesty, in every arena of his life… every time he was close to becoming happy….**

**"Your brother is having people spy on you," he said quietly, almost hoping that she would not hear him. "To make sure you did not associate with that mu-… Muggleborn."**

* * *

Daniella tensed at his words, her eyes fixed on her half-eaten slice of cake. She didn't answer for a long time. Did he suspect she'd changed his memories? A sense of dread filled her. She had practiced in her mind how to confront him, but she'd never thought he'd just say it like that… and what would come out of this conversation.

She swallowed, trying to decide what to do. Just because he'd admitted it, it didn't mean he wouldn't tell Logan what was happening. And she had to think of Jo's family. She was responsible for their safety in that matter.

"Are you one of those people?" She asked quietly, still not looking at him. Her heart was hammering against her ribs and she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer to her next question. "Is that why I'm here with you?"

* * *

**"I was," Ezra admitted. "From the moment I approached you on the train, I had every intention… I never thought that I…" His eyes were half-lidded, and he turned to look at her.**

**"I invited you here because it is my decision," he told her. "Because I consider you… my friend."**

* * *

Daniella took a long, deep breath before looking at him. "I know," she said, at last. She couldn't be entirely honest without talking to Jo first. "Or, well, I suspected. Jo would never stop talking to me, or send me away for no reason. Logan underestimated our friendship. It was his first mistake."

She searched his eyes, deep, dark and full of shadows. She wasn't sure what was happening between them, but she didn't want to keep lying to him when he'd decided to be honest. She wasn't sure she could tell him the truth, though. She wasn't sure she could trust him.

* * *

**Ezra picked at his cake, putting another forkful into his mouth. No use in wasting Pokey's effort.**

**"If you no longer wish to speak to me, I will understand," he murmured. "Although if you could stand to wait until after my birthday was over, I would appreciate it."**

* * *

Daniella's smile was regretful. "Neither of us is innocent in this story, Ezra." His request made her hesitate. If she told him now, he wouldn't want to talk to her ever again. "I don't think I could do that, if I tried," she admitted grudgingly. "Your birthday is safe with me."

* * *

**Her admission made Ezra happier than it probably should have, but it was his birthday, after all. He was allowed to grin at least once, take pride in himself, and sip a little more pomegranate punch.**

**"I don't suppose there's any need to attend dinner, as I've long past ruined mine," he drawled, with a half-guilty look. He looked over at her, and for the first time in a long time, he felt butterflies in his stomach. "Will you be going home for the Christmas holidays?"**

* * *

His whole expression lit up when he smiled like that. Daniella made it her secret mission to see it more often.

She put the used napkin down on the tray, wrapping it careful as to not make a mess. "I'm definitely skipping dinner," she said, eyeing the remaining pastries accusingly. "Or I'll roll around before Christmas."

She shrugged at his question. "I don't know yet," she admitted. Her mother kept asking her to go, and if Daniella was hesitating, it was because of her. But she didn't think she could stand two weeks at home with everything that had happened. "It's… easier, being here. I can do whatever I want."

* * *

**"Oh," Ezra murmured, fixing his eyes on the lake once again. He had been planning to invite her over to the Greengrass mansion for a while… "Yes, that makes sense." He gave her a wry smile, falling once again into silence.**

**"I don't have much of a choice, I suppose." He had never stayed at the castle for Christmas in all of his 7 years attending; he could imagine that his parents would be mortified. "I'll have Pauline bring you a letter."**

* * *

"Oh, you don't?" Daniella asked, just a hint of a challenging tone. "There are plenty of places to hide here, you know? It is a big castle… with a lot of armors." Her grin was mischievous.

* * *

**"You underestimate my parents' determination to find me," Ezra said dryly. "I expect the whole of Wizarding Europe isn't large enough."**

* * *

"I understand," Daniella gave a solemn nod at his words. She raised her nearly empty glass in a cheer, then emptied it. The sun was setting and the house was getting dark and much colder. "The 'special day' is almost over. Any last wishes before we go back to reality and homework?"

* * *

**Ezra looked over at her, then took one last look at the setting sun glittering over the lake. If every birthday had been like this – full of conversation, laughter, friendship – would he be the person he was today? He supposed it was pointless to ponder something so stupid.**

**"This 'wishing' nonsense is very hit-or-miss," he replied. "I would prefer to take initiative." With that, he leaned over towards her, his face lingering very close to hers, and pressed his lips gently to hers for only a few moments.**

**He extinguished the blue flame that had been burning steadily since their arrival, and the heat began to slowly subside. Smiling to himself in the growing darkness, he stood and offered Daniella his hand.**


	8. Defense Against the Dark Arts

_**Chapter 8 - Defense Against the Dark Arts**_

Dan scrambled through the contents of her bag as she hurried towards the classroom, trying to find the homework for Defense Against the Dark Arts. It should be in there, somewhere. When she bumped into someone for the second time, she gave up, took her wand and summoned it instead. A slightly squished roll of parchment flew off the bottom and into her hand. Blowing out a relieved sigh, she finally looked up and found Ezra coming from the other side of the corridor, with Sabrina attached to his arm again.

That sight made her more angry than she would be willing to admit. She tossed the black haired, perpetually bored looking girl a venomous look when she leaned over to whisper something in Ezra's ear. She avoided looking _at him_, certain that would just make her want to throttle him.

Then, she saw Jo, already waiting by the door. She tried to meet his eyes; she needed to talk to him, but he was also absorbed in a conversation with a Ravenclaw girl.

Her mood soured considerably. Without a choice, she settled alone against the opposite wall, arms crossed, annoyed.

After a couple of minutes, the door finally opened and the Professor gestured them in.

* * *

**Alisa Sparks, polished Prefect badge glittering on her robe as per usual, was the pinnacle of Ravenclaw temperament. Lean, clean-cut, and quick-witted, she was very much the sharp of tongue counterpart to Josiah's soft, cautious kindness. They both entered at the same time, Alisa looking fiercely at the Slytherins who were already seated. They had made this class combined to promote inter-house unity in the face of the looming war… as far as she was concerned, around half the people in this room were people who would be on the opposing side after their graduation.**

**She had a particularly fiery hatred for Sabrina, who, aside from wrongfully being named Head Girl, was her only competition for the title of most talented in their year at Defense Against the Dark Arts.**

**Well, in Alisa's mind, it wasn't really a competition; the competition was merely a rumor.**

**Regardless, she couldn't hide her sour expression, and Josiah looked at her rather sympathetically.**

**"It will be over soon," he tried to comfort her, and she grunted her acknowledgement.**

* * *

Dan walked up to the Professor's desk and dropped her homework with the others, then took a seat by herself on a table in the back, her mood deteriorating by the second. From the moment she'd entered the classroom, more than a few pairs of eyes had turned in her direction – in the direction of all the Slytherins – with suspicion, bordering on aggression here and there. It was nothing new. They judged her without knowing her. She was used to it. And she _hated_ it; had hated it all her life.

She glanced over at Jo. Alisa was sitting with him, and they had settled into some private conversation. She turned her gaze ahead of her, to the edge of her desk, chewing on her frustration. It hurt to look at them.

She remembered their first day in Hogwarts. Remembered feeling all those eyes drilling into her back, remembered trying to talk to a Hufflepuff girl in the corridors, only for the girl's brother to show up suddenly and drag the girl away with him, telling her not to talk to any Slytherins. It had taken Dan a while to understand - and longer to believe - the reputation her brother had already made for himself, along with his gang of Slytherin friends. She remembered how lonely she'd felt that first day, until the boy who had greeted her in the train and told her how exciting it had been to find out he was a wizard, bumped into her in the Great Hall. She remembered smiling despite herself when he rambled on about how amazing everything was in Hogwarts, and how amazing it was that magic existed and that he was going to learn everything about it. She remembered how he had extended a hand to her in friendship without an hidden agenda, like everyone in her own house seemed to do from a young age.

There was a forced coughing sound, and the class slowly - very slowly - quieted down. Dan looked up from her desk without much curiosity.

* * *

**The Professor, a younger man of around thirty, nervously announced to the intimidating group of 7th years that they would be studying advanced jinxes and counter-curses, and instructed everyone to grab a large pillow from the back of the room. There was the immediate scraping off wooden chair legs on stone floor, and Josiah hurried to the back; Dan was only a few feet away, and he turned to smile at her, only to bump into Ezra Greengrass.**

**"Sorry," Jo said immediately in his deep-country Scottish accent. Ezra's jaw was clenched, but he turned around and said nothing. _Daniella's friend, Daniella's friend, Daniella's friend_, he repeated to himself….**

**"Apologize better," came a flat voice from behind the tall Slytherin boy, and Josiah blanched at being addressed by the Head Girl in this manner.**

**"I… erm…"**

**"Don't say anything," Alisa said harshly through gritted teeth. "You don't owe anyone an apology here. They wouldn't value it even if you gave it to them; they value very little," she said dangerously, gripping her wand and giving a pointed sideways glance in Daniella's direction.**

**Jo opened his mouth to protest, but Ezra was quicker.**

**"Beg pardon, but what exactly are you implying?" He murmured silkily, the pillows totally forgotten.**

**"I'm implying," Alisa said acidly, "that she-" she thrust her wand in Daniella's direction, and a shower of sparks fell from its tip. Ezra, thinking it was a hex and wasting no time, hurled a curse in her general direction and hit Josiah squarely in the chest….**

* * *

Dan met Jo's eyes for a moment, but before she could say anything, Sabrina's voice pricked her temper to boiling point. But it was Alisa's jab that made her snap. What the hell she know?!

She raised her own wand, not even sure what sort of hex would leave her mouth, considering all the pent-up aggression in her, but Ezra was faster. Everything happened so quickly, she barely had time to react before Jo fell back as if hit by a wall.

"Jo?" She turned to face Ezra furiously. Everything that had happened between them in the last few days suddenly crumbled in front of her eyes. "Why did you do that?!"

She pushed him unceremoniously to the side, walked past Alisa and knelt down near Jo.

During those short few moments, Noah, who had been in the far back of the group, had made his way to the front with Shawn to see what had happened. They had their wands ready – Defense Against the Dark Arts classes with Slytherin often became tense – but, when he saw Jo on the floor, he pushed the person in front of him to the side harshly, moving forward, ready to knock some people out.

It took him a moment too long to realize the person he'd pushed was the Professor. A hand pulled him by the arm to the back of the group. "What are you doing, you idiot?" Shawn whispered furiously. "It's none of your business. He's just a Ravenclaw. We can't afford to lose our Captain for detention hours!" Noah glared at him, teeth clenched, unsure what to do. If he pushed the matter, Shawn would be suspicious. Grudgingly, he settled to glare at the Slytherins who had hexed Jo, marking their faces. He wouldn't forget this.

* * *

**Ezra's eyes widened as he realized how off his aim had been – he had been aiming for Alisa – and he flushed a blotchy scarlet. He looked with pleading eyes at Daniella, but she was already rushing to the Muggleborn's side, totally forgetting about him….**

**Alisa, whose temper was well beyond the boiling point, took one good look at Ezra and flung a huge, sizzling blue curse at him. His eyes widened; he didn't like to admit that other people were superior at spellwork, but he was certain that was definitely, definitely going to hurt –**

**Someone pushed him to the side, and then Sabrina was in front of him, moving her wand silently, violently, with more passion than he had seen from her in years. Alisa's curse fizzled out, subsided, and the result was the most intensely silent duel that had been seen in Hogwarts for at least half a century. Both girls, their long hair flowing violently with their exaggerated movements, were undeniably strong; Sabrina, in particular, had never found a reason to show off her impeccable reflexes in such a manner.**

**Alisa took a step back, stumbled, and Sabrina smirked. A jet of red light, a simple stunning spell, was all it took to take care of someone so pointedly off their guard. Someone who couldn't control their emotions. Fool.**

**Ezra stared at his frequent companion, dumbfounded, but she was already slipping back into her façade of expressionlessness.**

**"Is he alright?" Ezra mumbled about Josiah to no one in particular. "I didn't mean…"**

* * *

Dan had been watching the duel without interfering, more focused on creating a strong enough bubble shield to protect Jo the best she could, which proved very hard to do. A stream of red light had gotten through and hit him again.

When she saw Alisa lose the duel, though, her fury was directed at the last remaining target. She knew she couldn't win against Sabrina, but right now she didn't care. Sabrina, the silent snake, who was now eyeing her defeated opponent with contempt; Sabrina, the pureblood princess who thought the world was at her disposal by birthright; Sabrina, who was now reclaiming her adored position at Ezra's side, all the while smirking insufferably at Daniella.

Dan stood, raising her wand at Sabrina, but she looked at Ezra instead. "Your _girlfriend_," she said bitterly, her jaw tightly clenched, "hit him when he was already on the ground. So, ask _her_."

* * *

**While Ezra was wasting time looking at Daniella with a look of outraged disbelief (he wasn't sure what offended him more: the fact that she thought he had done it on purpose, or the fact that she had said that Sabrina was his girlfriend), Alisa was slowly but surely regaining her consciousness. She balled her fists, an indescribable rage in her chest at being humiliated by Sabrina in front of the class. While they were talking, she raised herself to a sitting position. Every nerve in her body screamed in protest; she ignored them, sending a jet of blue light at Ezra, who toppled over onto the stack of pillows and lay there, surprised and in intense, wordless pain –**

**"Stop it! All of you, right now, stop it! D-detention! You, you, you, you, you," he pointed at Noah, "and him, too!" He motioned to Josiah, who was still motionless.**

* * *

Dan felt the movement behind her, saw the shock in Ezra's eyes just before he toppled over. "NO!" She spun on her heels, reacting before thinking, and with a flick of her wand, sent Alisa's wand flying across the room.

She leaned over her, ready to finish what she should've done in the very beginning, but the Professor's shrieking voice made everyone stop. "This isn't over," She whispered to Alisa angrily.

* * *

**Alisa snorted at the threat, although her eyes were more lidded than usual.**

**"It won't be over until you decide where your loyalties lie, Hawke," she said sharply, forcing herself to her feet with great effort.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Dan was in Slytherin's common room, curled up in a couch, with her cat Toby sleeping at her feet as she petted him absentmindedly. Her free hand rested on two black books on her lap. The notebook she used to talk to Jo, and the book of poems Ezra had lent her.

She'd spent the last few hours chewing on Alisa's words, barely noticing the noise around her as the other students walked about. Alisa had no idea; didn't know what it was like. She couldn't imagine how difficult it was to be seen as the enemy by some, and the outcast by others. But Dan didn't really care for her opinion, what worried her was Jo's. Did Jo believe the same? Did he think she had simply abandoned and forgotten about him?

She opened the notebook and wrote:

«_I'm sorry I couldn't go to the hospital wing. I didn't want to cause any more trouble. How are you?_

_We need to talk, Jo. You still trust me, right? You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you, don't you?_»

She waited and waited, but no reply came. Maybe he was resting. It wasn't a big deal. The common room slowly became empty as everyone left for dinner. Dan hadn't moved from her seat. She closed the notebook and slipped both books back into her bag when she heard someone coming in from the outside. She looked at the door expectantly.

* * *

**The last time Ezra had ached this badly all over, he had been 7 years old and come down with a particularly nasty case of contagious scrofungulus. He had spent three days in St. Mungo's then; he had only spent 5 hours in the Hospital Wing. Every move was a conscious act of self-torture, and he kept his teeth gritted the entire way through the common room door.**

**He met eyes with Daniella, went to clench his teeth, realized they were already clenched, and un-clenched them so that he could clench them again before turning abruptly towards the boys' corridor.**

* * *

Dan flinched at the cold, silent treatment. It hurt. She'd been so pissed off at him, until she had time to calm down and think about what had happened. The way he'd moved in front of her, when Alisa came at her. The way he'd tried to protect her. He hadn't been the one starting the argument, that bitch Sabrina had started it.

He turned away from her. Dan's heart sunk. "Wait!" She got up as quickly as she could; Toby woke up startled and lept out of the couch. "Ezra, wait…"

* * *

**"Do elaborate," Ezra said dryly, no hint of a smirk on his face. He felt heat rise once again in his cheeks, a frozen fire that he couldn't place; why did it make him so angry? "Would that be, 'wait, Ezra, I would like to spit on your offer of friendship just a smidgen more', or 'wait, Ezra, allow me to accuse you of purposely mauling my Muggleborn friend', or… ah, perhaps, 'wait, Ezra, let me apologize so that you might come to trust me again only to have me rip out your heart with my bare… hands?'"**

**Every word was perfectly measured and dictated, but his confidence was so shaken that he could not keep his tone even in the end.**

* * *

Dan took a small step back, shocked with the intensity of his anger. She shook her head. She was starting to dread the outcome of this conversation.

"It was, wait, Ezra, I'm sorry for being an idiot and letting my anger blind me to what you tried to do. Wait, Ezra, I'm sorry for, while trying to get on Sabrina's nerves, saying something that hurt you instead." She paused for a moment, swallowing the fear that he wouldn't care for whatever she might say. "Wait, Ezra, thank you for trying to protect me."

* * *

**"'Trying' being the operative word," Ezra mumbled, finally allowing himself to feel ashamed of his terrible aim. He turned to face her, but looked off to the side, feeling a bit guilty now for his earlier outburst. He was silent for a long while, then finally had the mental strength to meet her eyes.**

**"It was only a Knockback Jinx, you know. I didn't knock him unconscious." He raised his chin a bit defensively. "On the brighter side, Sabrina refused to touch the shoulder he bumped into until I was able to change jackets."**

* * *

Relief washed over Dan so abruptly she felt a little dizzy, like she'd been drained off all energy too fast. Without any more room for anger or worry, she wasn't sure what to feel anymore. "And I know you didn't want to, I just… he's my friend, and I haven't been able to be with him, and Alisa-" she pressed her lips together. It was stupid to think Jo could only have one friend, especially a friend that was now so absent.

She scowled at the remark about Sabrina. "This school year isn't going to end without me slipping a Fungiface Potion in Sabrina's pumpkin juice," she said grimly.

* * *

**"Yes, Alisa," Ezra repeated, looking rather ill. He could only imagine how tense the next Prefect's meeting was going to be.**

**"I do wish you'd do it before the Christmas hols," he mumbled with a small hint of a smile. "It would save me worlds of trouble." He sighed heavily, stuffing his hands into his pockets and setting his gaze on the floor.**

* * *

"And we still have detention all together…" Dan stood there awkwardly, looking at everything except him. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Comfort him? Be comforted? Hit something?

"So… er… how are you feeling?" She asked, noticing how stiffly he was moving.

* * *

**"I'm perfectly well," he murmured the lie. "Just need to sit a bit. You'd think that being hexed and holed up in the Hospital Wing would give you a pass on Transfiguration homework." He sat in an armchair and pulled the unfinished essay out of his bag.**

**"Do you know, I've never had detention in my life?" He drawled, looking at her with slightly raised eyebrows. "Can't imagine what I'm going to tell mum..."**

* * *

Dan narrowed her eyes at him. "You're a really bad liar," she retorted, taking a sit on the armchair in front of him. "You could tell her the truth. Maybe they would take Sabrina off the pedestal," _or find a higher one_, she thought, but didn't say. "Or you could not go home for Christmas," she murmured almost inaudibly. She knew he would never do that. He would go home a be a good little lamb, much to her regret.

* * *

**"Sabrina's nature has absolutely nothing to do with the pedestal they've put her on," Ezra said lowly, scribbling a few words absentmindedly onto his parchment with a gold-tipped self-inking quill. "She could be the most… loathsome, shrill, unhinged broad on the face of the planet and mum would still love her twice as much as she's ever loved me." He rolled his eyes in thought.**

**"Which would be zero, because, of course, anything multiplied by zero is still zero. As mandated by standard arithmancy."**

* * *

Dan didn't know what to answer to that. She studied his handsome face, a little paler than usual, a little haunted, more than a little appealing. Beautiful, unloved, unappreciated.

She rose from her seat to kneel in front of him. "It's their loss," she said softly. Reaching up, she buried her fingers in his hair, on the back of his head and kissed him.

* * *

**Ezra leaned into the kiss, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair as he closed his eyes. Merlin's beard… this was what real passion felt like, wasn't it? The feel of her fingers knotted into his hair was intoxicating, and he smiled a bit against her lips before pulling away.**

**"Rather unexpected," he purred, ignoring the large splotch of ink that had once been a word on his Transfiguration homework. "Though not unwelcome."**

* * *

Dan licked her lips, surprised with herself. "Hmm… yeah, a little bit," she agreed, frowning. She closed her eyes. It was hard to think when he was looking at her so closely, when she could feel his breath against her skin. But she'd put herself in that situation.

"I… should probably go," she said, but didn't move. "You're… busy." She was trying to talk herself into backing away now. This wasn't what she had planned at all. And people would start returning from dinner at any moment now. "Damn it," she breathed, chuckling.

* * *

**Ezra smirked, searching her eyes for a few more moments before leaning back in and placing his moist lips on her cheekbone.**

**"We should both get some rest," he said solemnly. "I don't expect that brewing a Fungiface Potion is an easy task when one is sleep deprived."**

* * *

Dan brushed her hair behind her ears, working on regaining some composure. This new side of Ezra he was just starting to show her, tender and caring, destroyed her defenses in a way she'd never experienced before. She sighed under his touch, then pulled herself up on her feet.

She felt strangely lonely when she distanced herself from him. "Goodnight, Ezra," she murmured, before turning away to the girls' dorm.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_**«It's fine, don't worry. I have no idea what Alisa was on about, I'm really sorry. I explained to her after that you weren't like that, but you know how she is…. I'm not sure if she believes me or not. Of course I know that. Are you okay? What happened after I came to the Hospital Wing?**_

_**Did you see Noah at all? I stayed up for a while hoping he would come visit, but I didn't see him. Anyway, I hope you're well. Let me know about everything.**_

_**Love, Jo»**_

* * *

_«I'm fine. I didn't get hit. I… I think you'll be angry with me. But I don't want to explain through here. We'll have to meet somehow, when you're out of the hospital wing._

_We all got detention, that's what happened. Even you, while you were unconscious. Noah… I'm not sure. He looked very angry, but… He got detention too, though._

_Please, know that I love you, and I'm just trying to protect you…_

_Love, Dan»_

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah stared out the large, clear ceiling-high window. The grounds were brightly lit with the last vestiges of golden autumn, but he couldn't bring himself to enjoy them. He was too worried.**

**It might have been silly, but he couldn't stop wondering if he had done the right thing, having sex with Noah. They had both wanted it, but ever since then…. Maybe it was too much, or too soon. Maybe it had ruined all of his chances, and he had developed second thoughts, and that's why Noah hadn't come to visit him.**

**There was a twinge in his chest that had nothing to do with where Ezra's spell had hit him, and he sighed heavily into the mostly-empty room.**

* * *

Noah couldn't take any more sleepless nights. His teammates were noticing how distracted he was, and Shawn in particular was getting very suspicious. He paced in front of the door to the hospital wing, biting his nails furiously. Everyone else was at the Great Hall, having dinner. He wouldn't get a much better chance.

But what could he say? He thought it over and over again, and he still didn't know what to think, what to do. Jo would hate him either way. But he would probably hate him more if he didn't even have the courage to show up. What kind of Gryffindor was he, after all?

Telling himself to stop being a coward, he quietly pushed the big door open.

* * *

**Jo had looked up every time the door had opened, and been disappointed every time, so when it opened for maybe the 11th time that evening, he did not look up immediately.**

**He had retrieved his school bag and was now busily working on his DADA homework, despite having totally missed the class due to the… incident. He only looked up when a shadow hovered over his parchment, blocking the sunlight he was writing in.**

**"Oh," he said in a small voice, studying Noah's face with a cautious, but not unhappy, expression. "Hey."**

* * *

"Hey," Noah murmured, looking intently at the parchment in Jo's hands. His voice was raspy, as if he hadn't used it in quite some time. Which he hadn't, in fact. "I just returned from practice and I thought…" He trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. He cleared his throat. "How are you?"

* * *

**Josiah gave him a searching look. He looked more like he belonged in a bed than Jo did.**

**"How did practice go?" He asked conversationally. "I'm good – feeling much better. Just doing some homework before I have to go to detention," he snorted. There were a few moments of silence, and he bit his lip subtly.**

**"You can have a seat, you know. Nobody's here."**

* * *

Noah sighed. "Not so well," he admitted, rubbing his neck. He flushed at Jo's last remark, but pulled a chair and sat next to the bed, laying his Quidditch bag and broomstick between his legs.

He chanced a quick glance at Josiah's eyes. He'd missed him. He'd never thought it would be possible to miss someone so much; to see Jo every day and still miss his company so deeply. That thought scared him. "I'm sorry. I'm a jerk."

* * *

**Josiah knitted his brows with concern, putting his essay and quill on the bedside table.**

**"I don't think you're a jerk," he said matter-of-factly with a wry smile. "It's not easy. I understand." He grabbed at his wand, performing a few quick swishes, and let the Cheering Charm fall over Noah in a wave of slightly perfumed magical air.**

**"So don't be so hard on yourself, aye? I just… I need you to be honest with me." He finished the sentence very softly. "No matter what you're feeling, just be honest."**

* * *

Noah closed his eyes for a few moments, lowered his head and exhaled slowly as the spell slowly lifted some of the weight on his shoulders. It became easier to breathe. Jo was right. He needed to be honest – with himself and Jo.

He kept his eyes closed; it was easier to voice his thoughts that way. "I never…" he started with a murmur. "I'd never been with a guy before. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to say." He paused, searching his heart. Trying to be honest with himself. "I don't regret it." His voice was barely a whisper as he admitted the truth that hurt the most, "But I'm afraid."

* * *

**Jo was silent for a few moments, fiddling with the blanket draped over his legs while Noah talked.**

**"It's okay," he said finally, as though trying to rationalize it for the both of them. "Really, it's… look, Noah, I really like you." He said a little more boldly than he had intended. "But I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I only want you to go as far as you want to go. So…"**

**The knowledge that Noah was not as sure about Jo as Jo was about him hurt a little, but he scolded himself for that. He was trying to remember, despite the painful memories, how hard it had been for him to come to terms with himself.**

* * *

Noah raised his eyes at Jo at his admission. He was so understanding, even though it was obvious it was hurting him that Noah couldn't say it back. But he had asked for honesty, and Noah had never said something like that to anyone, except maybe his mother and grandmother.

The spell had helped settle his chaotic thoughts a little, but it didn't help him figure out how to say what was clogging his chest. He thought of his parents – his mother, who had supported him in his dream to become a professional Quidditch player – his friends, the people who were thinking about giving him a chance in Quidditch after school… His entire future was hanging on a thread this year, a lot of eyes were fixed on him and how he would perform.

"What will they think? I could lose everything I worked for…" He looked at Jo, troubled. "What did your parents say? Your friends?"

* * *

**"I don't know what they'll think," Josiah answered truthfully, but regretfully. "I… my parents… we haven't talked about it much." He was embarrassed by this, his cheeks flushing with heat. "But Daniella didn't mind at all… I suppose since she's a girl, it's a little different…."**

**He felt pained by his inability to relate to Noah on a personal level. He wanted to console him, to tell him it was okay and that everyone would still support him fully, but the Ravenclaw in him was very clear on the reality of the matter.**

**"It's something you have to… to think about personally and decide for yourself. It's always different. For everyone." He gave the other boy a small, weak smile. "I'm sorry, I know it doesn't help much."**

* * *

Noah nodded as Jo spoke, expression hardening as he tried to contain his feelings. People had expectations about him; had invested heavily on those expectations. He looked at the bag between his feet, where he kept his Quidditch equipment; looked at his broomstick.

Flying was his life. It was all he knew how to do well. He didn't want to give it up. But he liked to be with Jo too. Even Quidditch didn't look as much fun if he couldn't share it with him. He wasn't sure what that meant yet, or how important it was to him, but he knew he didn't want to be forced to make a choice.

He hung his head, blinked a few times in an attempt to keep his eyes dry and inhaled sharply. "I'll… think about it." The pressure in his chest kept rising. He needed to get out of there. He forced himself straight and faced Jo. "I have to go. I'll… see you around."


	9. Detention

**Chapter 9 - Detention**

**Every teenager in the dim, musty dungeon classroom was looking quite unhappy, and for good reason. Ezra, in particular, cursed his luck; didn't people usually have to write lines for their first detention? Surely this was all an exaggerated misunderstanding.**

**"As you can see," the professor murmured while staring very harshly at them. "This classroom has not been used for a very, very long time. In fact, it used to be the Potions classroom, before there was a rather unfortunate… accident." His eyes flicked to a dark stain on a nearby wall, then back to the group in front of him. Someone sneezed in the background, and a layer of brown dust flew off of a nearby table.**

**"Of course, as you can probably hear and smell, there is quite a significant Doxy infestation here." He motioned toward a large copper cauldron which contained what Ezra recognized immediately as Doxycide. "You will fill your sprayers up with the Doxycide and wipe out the infestation. If you do not cooperate and finish by the end of the night, you will come here every Saturday until it is done."**

**Nobody moved or spoke. The usually nervous professor seemed to have gained a lot of confidence in thinking up his cruel punishment, because he merely smiled before saying, "Well, go on, then. Grab a sprayer and get started."**

* * *

Dan huffed at those words. Putting them together in the same room and asking them to 'cooperate'?! There was someone in there she would much rather turn into Doxycide than work with. Yet, that would only earn her an extension of this stupid detention, so she swallowed her anger and turned her back to Sabrina. She could barely stand to look at her without wanting to practice some of the most creative hexes she'd found in her father's library.

Pushing that particularly enticing thought out of her mind, she moved closer to Jo in the line to fill the sprayers. "Are you feeling better?" She whispered.

* * *

**Jo smiled at Dan, then turned to the cauldron and carefully began filling his sprayer with a look of deep concentration. He put the cap back on it manually, then hoisted it at his waist.**

**"Oh, yeah, I feel great," he replied, giving a cautious look to Alisa, who had stormed off in a huff when Dan had walked up. "Don't worry about her," he said quietly, looking apologetic. "What did you want to talk to me about?"**

**Ezra was trying to get as close to Daniella as possible, but it was proving difficult with Sabrina tagging his every move.**

**"This is boring," she said helpfully, and he gave her a pained look that he hoped would suffice for a reply. She really didn't know the half of it.**

* * *

Noah was at the end of the line, arms crossed, throwing Jo and Daniella furtive glances. Like Jo had said, she looked perfectly comfortable with him – even though he didn't know her to judge very accurately. Then, he remembered Shawn's reaction when he had to cancel today's practice because of this '_stupid, unnecessary detention_'. He couldn't reach a conclusion about what Shawn would say if he told him what was happening. Would he never talk to him again? Probably.

He wanted to go to Jo and just talk to him like they did before, but he didn't know what kind of welcome he'd get. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. This was news to him, and he didn't like this state of mind one bit. He never dwelled too long on a problem. He was a man of action: he made a decision, stuck to it and hoped for the best. Now, he felt as if he was trapped between a dragon and a Devil's Snare and he didn't know how to get out of that situation unscathed.

Daniella, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at Alisa's retreating back, but shrugged it away. "I don't care what she thinks, as long as you and I are good." She glanced at Ezra out of the corner of her eye, before pointing her wand at the cauldron to siphon the liquid into her own sprayer. "Not here," she murmured, glancing back at Sabrina. "Too crowded."

* * *

**"Oh," Jo murmured, glancing furtively at Ezra. She didn't seem to be as worried about his stalking tendencies as usual. "Okay. Um, I'll meet you over by that Doxy nest." He indicated the far corner of the room with his sprayer, and then began walking in that direction.**

**It was soon Ezra's turn to fill his sprayer. He whipped out his wand and used it to funnel the potion neatly into the attached container before stashing it away. He would submit to the punishment, but wasting time was just foolish – he worked with potions all day. Making him fill a Doxycide sprayer by hand was an insult.**

**He looked at the corner where Johnston and Daniella were spraying Doxies, and he desperately desired to be next to Daniella instead. Sabrina, however, tugged him to the opposite corner, giving him a small smile that looked like it required an incredible amount of effort on her part.**

* * *

As Noah finally filled his sprayer, he narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin Prefects. They'd been the ones hexing Josiah. And now Greengrass was looking at Jo very suspiciously. He patted a hand against his robe's folds, making sure his wand was handy. Damn him, if he would let that smug Slytherin do anything else to Jo.

He had no intention of getting anywhere near the Slytherins if could avoid it, and Jo was clearly absorbed in a private conversation, so Noah moved to the only free corner to work by himself while his mind wandered.

Daniella had followed Jo to the distant corner, wondering how to say what she needed to say. She didn't want him to hear any twisted rumors by Alisa first. "So… you know I was trying to get closer to Ezra, right? I had to see if the memory charm idea was working." The excuse sounded poor even in her ears. Suddenly a lot more nervous about Jo's reaction to this conversation, she started spraying to keep her mind busy.

* * *

**Ezra gave the bulky Gryffindor a stony sideways look. Not only had he not forgiven him for beating Slytherin in the recent Quidditch match, he also had absolutely no patience tonight for blood-traitor tomfoolery. Swallowing his discontentment, he began spraying rather violently in comparison with Sabrina's lazy back-and-forth swinging. She wasn't actually hitting any Doxies, because her full attention was focused on Ezra's face.**

**"Yeah," Jo said nonchalantly as he tried to fit the nozzle of his sprayer into a particularly tight corner. "So? Did you find out anything? Did it work properly?" He gave Dan a slightly worried look. "I mean, I assume it did, or you'd have been…" He didn't even want to say it out loud.**

* * *

"Well, yeah, it worked." She kept spraying with apparent intense concentration, catching a couple of Doxies, and avoided Jo's eyes. "We've been… talking." She stopped and closed her eyes, organizing her thoughts. Then she looked at Jo, needing to see his reaction. "He told me my brother made him spy on me, told him to get close to me."

* * *

**"He told you?" Josiah whispered, momentarily forgetting where he was spraying. "Well, that's really… I mean… he's not very good at it, then, is he? If he goes around telling you…"**

* * *

Daniella bit her lower lip. "He… I don't think he wants to do it anymore. I told him I knew, because you would never stop talking to me for no reason. But I didn't say anything about the memory charm, or that you told me. I didn't want to before I could talk to you about it." She gave Jo a tentative look, trying to figure out what he thought of it – of Ezra.

"He's not so bad, after…" She trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence. She was doing this all wrong. Maybe this had been a bad idea, after all. She went back to spraying intensely on a particularly infested corner. "I don't think he'll tell Logan anything…" She finished weakly.

* * *

**Jo had mostly stopped spraying to listen, a look of particularly sassy concern on his face.**

**"You like him, don't you?" A doxy flew out of its hiding place, and he sprayed it remorselessly. "You know, just because someone isn't pure evil doesn't make them good, either, aye? I mean, we are talking about the same bloke, aye?"**

* * *

"No!" Daniella replied a little too quickly. She felt her face warming up. "It's not like that… nothing happened," she tried to explain, her voice closer to a murmur with every word. "We just… kissed, that's all."

She looked over her shoulder to where Ezra was spraying with Sabrina. Always Sabrina. She would be the one at his side, in the end. Daniella was just his rebellious adventure. She couldn't let herself forget that. "It doesn't mean anything. He'll never let go of the safety of his privilege and his traditions." She turned to the wall again, because it hurt to look at him and wonder '_what if_'.

* * *

**"Well, not that I can blame you," Josiah mumbled, moving a bit to the left now that the corner was cleaned out. "He is rather dishy, if we're honest. I mean, if it weren't for the whole 'pureblood privilege' bit." He gave Dan a sideways glance, then sighed.**

**"That does explain why I got a sour look instead of a curse when I bumped into him, at any rate," he said a bit wryly. He paused. "Just… be careful."**

* * *

Dan studied Josiah until she was sure he wasn't going to be angry. She gave him a relieved half-smile. "I will be," she said, searching his eyes, then added awkwardly, "About that… He didn't want to hex you, really. He was just trying to protect me."

She glanced again at the pair on the other wall. "He's not like… _her_," she said, referring to Sabrina. "She's just..." she couldn't think of a bad enough word, so she made a disgusted face instead. "But I think if you gave each other a chance, looked past the appearances and tried to get to know each other a little…" She reconsidered. That was probably pushing too hard for one day. Maybe Ezra would never really change his ways, but she thought he might, with time, be more respectful. If it was an honest feeling, maybe…

"So, you aren't upset with me?"

* * *

**"Well, not upset with you, no," Jo said a little tensely. "But it's just, you know, it's not exactly easy-as-cherry-pie to believe that someone who has delighted in your suffering for 6 years is now suddenly a chivalrous gentleman." He cleared his throat and rubbed his nose, which had begun to leak a bit from the constant stream of Doxycide.**

**He looked at Dan a little skeptically, then sighed.**

**"Well, I believe you, but… it still did rather hurt, you know. I'll meet you halfway, how about that?" He gave her a small smile.**

**"If he's kind to me, I'll be kind right back, sure as the day is long."**

* * *

"Thank you, Jo! You're the best!" Dan gave him a tight, grateful hug. "That's all I ask."

Feeling a lot lighter, the dark moody cloud above her head dissipating a little, she let go of him and moved along to another nest. "So, what about Noah?" She asked in a low voice, glancing at the Gryffindor boy, who looked quite sulky today, working alone on the wall to their left. "Did you talk yet?"

* * *

**"A little," Jo murmured, the smile vanishing quickly after he was released from the hug. "It went… okay. There are a lot of things neither of us are sure about." He glanced even more quickly at Noah, for some reason embarrassed by the thought of being caught looking.**

**"My arm hurts," Sabrina complained dully, and Ezra made no acknowledgement of her, eyebrows furrowed with concentration on the task at hand and his racing mind. "They have janitorial staff for mundane duties such as these."**

**"Yes, my dear," he began dryly. "One assumes that therein lies the grievous insult of detention."**

* * *

Dan studied Jo with narrowed eyes. "Hmm… well, as long as he isn't ignoring you now." She followed Jo's sneaky glance with a much more obvious long look. "I understand him being unsure, but don't let him hurt your feelings, alright? He may be big and bulky, but I know exactly where to kick for him to get the point," she said, winking at Jo, hoping to lighten his mood.

She gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, before emptying the sprayer on the last nest on their wall, killing off the last Doxy in it.

* * *

**Josiah let out a small chuckle as they finished the wall.**

**"Don't sterilize him or anything," he murmured, sighing deeply. If they were going to get finished tonight, they should go help in another corner, but…. He looked indecisively between Ezra and Sabrina, Noah, and Alisa, not entirely sure he fancied any of his options.**

* * *

Dan looked around the room, then sighed. "Alright, let me get a refill and we can help your friend… She's looking awfully sulky because you left her alone to keep a traitor's company," she said sarcastically.

* * *

**Alisa looked up at Josiah when he walked over to her, her face expressionless.**

**"Oh, she's coming too?" The intense girl murmured, the corner of her lip twitching downward. "So you've made up then, is that it? I still don't buy that she's trying to 'protect' you by leaving you to fend for yourself."**

**Jo gave a nervous half-smile, settling in beside her to begin spraying.**

**"Dan has never been mean to me, or done anything to hurt me, not once," he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.**

* * *

Dan refilled her sprayer and approached the two Ravenclaws in time to catch Alisa's last words. She doubled her efforts to leash her temper. She couldn't blame Jo for seeking company; couldn't expect him to write on a stupid notebook all day long. But she couldn't help feel the bite of jealousy.

"Well, he has you to keep him safe, right?" She asked, throwing the girl a piercing look. "Even from me." Setting her jaw, she glanced at Jo, reminded herself that Alisa was his friend and turned to the wall, directing the sprayer and her feelings towards the Doxies.

* * *

**"Yes, he does," Alisa said without missing a beat. She sprayed in a violent sweep, and at least four doxies fell out of midair. "And you and your little boyfriend will do well to remember it."**

**Jo's eyes widened at Alisa's tone, his spraying temporarily interrupted.**

**"That's not a nice thing to say," he said a little reproachfully, and the blonde rolled her eyes.**

**"You're right. Sorry. I suppose he's not that little; he's at least average height."**

* * *

Daniella stopped and turned to look straight at Alisa, Jo standing between them; her breath came out in a low hiss. Right now, she was very glad to have had that conversation with Jo. She smiled at Alisa, a sharp half-smirk that didn't reach her eyes.

"I thought Ravenclaws were the brightest students in this school. When I met Jo, I was certain that was true." She let out a _'tsc'_ sound and shook her head. "I guess that's not always the case..."

* * *

**Jo was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, standing silently between two women who were clearly at odds with each other.**

**"Um, I think we should just try to finish," he suggested meekly, and Alisa smiled dangerously, but said nothing more.**

* * *

Dan clenched her teeth at Jo's request. Because she owed him, she backed off. And Alisa was the least of her concerns, anyway.

She rested a hand on Jo's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Then, she looked at Alisa. "I don't need or care for your approval. The only person who can keep me away from Jo is Jo himself. If he wants my friendship, he will have it, whether I'm at his side or not. But you really should be careful and not trust appearances so much."

She gave Jo's shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'll join Ezra, they're late on their part of the work. Thank you for the talk," she said, walking away to join the other Slytherins.

* * *

**Ezra and Sabrina sprayed silently, although only one of them was getting anything done. His frustration was mounting, and it was broken only by a familiar scent, and then a familiar face.**

**"Good evening," he said cordially, giving her a smile that would not be misconstrued as too excited. "I suppose you've come to save us."**

* * *

"Or to save myself," Daniella said mysteriously as she approached them, settling next to Ezra and keeping her gaze firmly away from Sabrina. "Impressive," she said simply, studying their progress. It was both a compliment, since Ezra had clearly done it all by himself, and a joke that Sabrina probably wouldn't get.

* * *

**"Quite," Ezra murmured dryly. "It doesn't help that this Doxycide is poorly brewed, either." He moved slowly along the wall. He chanced a look over at Sabrina, who was looking rather upset.**

**"Is there something the matter? You know how susceptible you are to potion fumes… you can go have a sit in the center, if you like. Daniella and I will take care of it."**

**"No," the surly girl replied immediately, shooting him a look that might have drawn blood. "Don't be absurd."**

* * *

Daniella kept her gaze on the wall while the exchange lasted. She bit her tongue and tried really hard, but it was stronger than her. "Yes, don't be absurd, Ezra," she murmured sarcastically, mimicking Sabrina's drawled tone. "We'd _never_ get this over with without her precious help." She sprayed behind a heavily stained curtain and two more Doxys fell of.

Noah was almost done with his side of the wall. Clearly, the frustration had worked to his advantage. As he emptied the container for the second time, he glanced at Josiah again.

This was stupid! He had to do something, or he might just explode! Making up his mind, he walked over to where the cauldron and the bags were and crouched by his own. He looked around again, but everyone was distracted. He took a quill and a piece of parchment from his bag and quickly wrote:

_«I'll be in the Prefects bathroom tonight, at midnight.  
__I'll understand if you don't want to see me; if you don't trust me.»_

He hesitated, looking at such a lame message, but he had never been particularly good at getting his feelings into words. He didn't sign it, but Jo would know it was his. He slipped it into Jo's bag and walked away before anyone wondered what he was up to.

* * *

**Ezra gave Dan a warning look, subtle but serious. The last thing he needed right before the Christmas holidays was Sabrina complaining to his parents that he had replaced her with some Muggle-lover.**

**"Sabrina," he began slowly, trying to maintain composure. "Wouldn't it be lovely if Daniella joined us for the annual Christmas party at my mansion? Why don't you get her an invitation out of your bag?"**

* * *

Daniella scowled at his look, but her jaw dropped at his invitation. Her eyes widened at the perspective. What was he thinking? How in the name of Merlin did he think that invitation could end in something other than a disaster?

But he had seemed so unhappy when they talked about the holidays, she didn't have the heart to say no. "I…" She searched his eyes, and murmured, "Are you sure?"

* * *

**Ezra smiled, small but genuine.**

**"Of course," he said confidently, lowering his sprayer for only a moment. "They're great fun, aren't they, 'Brina?"**

**Sabrina made a dull sound in the back of her throat that might have been acknowledgement, but said no words that could escape her jealousy. Ezra ignored her. He gave her a look, too.**

**"Honestly," he muttered.**

* * *

'_Brina?!_ Daniella stood there quietly facing the wall, but not really seeing anything. Her hands shook with the effort to control her emotions.

It shouldn't have bothered her. It didn't bother her, she told herself. They'd known each other their whole lives, he'd said, of course he would be… _like that_… to her. He liked Sabrina, even if he complained about her. They had probably-

Daniella stopped herself from finishing that particular thought.

She forced a smile on her lips, but it looked more like a clenched teeth grimace. "I'll see what I can do. Thank you!"

Maybe she would leave him hanging. He certainly deserved it! The jerk!

* * *

**"I'll send mother an owl and let her know I'll be having another guest. I'm sure she won't mind..." his tone grew darker the further he got into the sentence, and he stopped talking altogether as he furrowed his brow, lost in his thoughts momentarily.**

**Sabrina stalked silently over to her bag, rustling around in it and pulling out an ornate parchment invitation with green, silver, and red ink. It read:**

**_You are cordially invited_**

**_to the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Clement Greengrass on Saturday, December the 23rd.  
_****_Please wear semi-formal dress robes and one green accessory.  
_****_The mansion is fully staffed; it will not be necessary to bring your house elves._**

**Making great effort not to purse her lips, she handed Daniella the invitation.**

* * *

Daniella accepted the parchment grudgingly and skimmed over the words, then slipped it into her pocket.

She glanced at Ezra. Why did he have that effect on her? Why couldn't she stay away from him?

She looked at the now clean wall, shaking those thoughts out of her mind. "Do you think that's acceptable?"

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Jo slipped into the Prefect's bath and the door clicked softly shut behind him. The reflections of the ripples from the large pool-like bath in the center of the room bounced off of every surface with a soothing glow. He had always loved this room. As far as he was concerned, it was the best privilege that came with his position.**

**He looked around for Noah, but he was quite alone; he usually arrived to appointments early, so it was just as well. Supposing that there was no use in coming to the bath and standing around like a lump, he slipped off his cloak and began undoing his tie.**

* * *

Noah looked over his shoulder; the hallway was empty. Finally, he'd managed to leave Shawn behind. The boy could be stubborn when he wanted to!

His mouth was dry; he looked at the bathroom door, biting his lip, then pushed it open before he had time to think about what could go wrong. He closed the door, but kept his sweaty hand closed tightly around the doorknob. He saw Jo as soon as he turned around. His heart skipped a beat and a familiar heat grew in his chest… and lower.

This was crazy! He wanted to take Jo in his arms again, wanted to taste his mouth again, wanted to- Was he going crazy?!

"You came…" he said breathlessly.

* * *

**"Of course I came," Jo replied with a grin, not unkindly. "Don't be daft." His cheeks were slightly pink. His cloak and tie and vest were all in a heap on the floor now, and he pulled his untucked school shirt down absentmindedly.**

**"What's on your mind, then?"**

* * *

Noah was starting to feel very warm in his school robes. He pulled at his tie, undoing the knot and dropping it unceremoniously on the ground. He tried to come up with a good answer for Jo's question, but he couldn't think of any. Instead, he walked up to him and pulled him in for a kiss.

"You are," he breathed when he pulled away.

* * *

**"Flattering, aye," Jo whispered, looking off to the side for only a moment. "As are you on mine. But your note…"**

**He wondered if pressing the issue of the tense nature of the note was a good idea. He settled for leaning against Noah again, pressing his body close.**

* * *

Noah frowned, looking down to avoid meeting Jo's eyes. But Jo had asked for honesty. "I tried to forget… what happened." Jo's body pressed against his made him lose focus. "But I can't."

Jo had come here. That must mean he wasn't going to punch him… right? Unable to stop himself, he reached for the buttons on Jo's shirt.

* * *

**Jo squirmed a bit, fully aware now of the fingertips around the edge of his shirt. Strange as it was, and slightly embarrassing, he had thus far been able to avoid having sex with his clothes completely off. All those pumpkin pasties from Halloween hadn't exactly been kind to him.**

**"You can leave it on," he ventured, hoping that didn't sound as pathetic as he was sure it did.**

* * *

Noah couldn't quite make himself stop. "Why?" Jo didn't look like he didn't want to… He undid the first button, chancing a look up at Jo, a look that was half question, half challenge.

"You've seen me," Noah started, undoing another button. "You'll have to stop me."

* * *

**"No reason, I was just…" Josiah lied briskly, flushing a deep red that was half arousal and half embarrassment. "It's not exactly prime real estate," he said with a nervous laugh.**

**"Oh, well, that must have been very traumatizing for you," he murmured, slightly breathless. "They could have carved Stonehenge out of your abdominal muscles." But the fight was growing weary, and he was slowly giving in. He furrowed his eyebrows and let Noah continue with the buttons.**

**"Make quick work of it if you're going to do it," Jo said, unbuckling his pants.**

* * *

Noah chuckled. "So, you like them?" He looked down as he undid the last button and took Jo's shirt off. Nothing about this was normal to him, but he felt comfortable around Jo like he'd never felt with anyone before. That was surprising to him. Surprising and thrilling.

He took off his own clothes, then braced his hands on each side of Jo's head, meeting his eyes. In that moment he realized he couldn't turn away from this anymore, if he tried. Wherever this road took him, he wanted to explore it. Even if he was playing with fire, risking everything he had.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah rested his forehead on Jo's shoulder. How could such a simple touch feel so good after all that, feel so… comforting? This, too, was surprising to him.

The last few days had been a blur of desire and confusion. His sleep had been interrupted by disturbing dreams, his days filled with doubts and dread of someone finding out what was happening to him. But now, in the laziness of the afterglow, he thought that, for better or worse, this moment was the most honest he'd been in a very long time. What he saw in Jo's eyes seemed more real than anything he'd experienced before. It made his heart ache with a feeling he didn't understand. A delicious aching, if that made any sense.

The world outside seemed far too unpleasant for him to leave just yet. He sat back against the edge of the giant bath, sending small waves rippling through the water surface, his breathing slowly returning to normal. He reached up, his fingertips lightly tracing Jo's cheekbone; leaning in a little, he brushed his lips against Jo's.

* * *

**Josiah's heart fluttered for a moment, and the kiss dissolved slowly back into the content laziness of afterglow.**

**He**** wrapped his arm loosely around the bulk of Noah's back, resting his hand at the base of his neck.**

**He took the role of expert in these situations, but the truth was that he was not all that more experienced himself. He felt slightly hollowed out, but in the good way, with the glow of loving and being loved radiating from his inside out.**

**"Are you very busy over the Christmas hols?" He asked lightly in an attempt not to sound pushy or demanding. "My mum makes a fantastic treacle."**

* * *

Noah tensed at the invitation, the reminder that there was a world outside, as well as judgmental people. It took effort not to squirm under Jo's gaze.

"I…" He shrugged awkwardly. "I'll spend some time with Shawn, probably. Practicing. I made a training plan for him, and we live close by, so…" A plan that he'd completely forgotten about since the last game, which was the reason Shawn was so pissed off with him lately.

"Where do you live?" He asked, delaying a final answer as much as possible.

* * *

**"Ah, er," Jo backtracked sheepishly. "Wasn't a demand or anything. I live on the Stonehaven harbor. In Scotland, if you couldn't tell," he added with a slight attempt at comedy.**

**"In any case, it's getting late, aye? I'll just…" he shifted slightly in the water, beginning to lift himself out of it, even more conscious of his naked figure now than he had been when Noah had undressed him.**

* * *

Noah felt suddenly very hollow when Jo pulled away. He grabbed his wrist instinctively, loosening his grip a moment later. He stared at their hands, letting out a pained sigh when he looked up to meet Jo's eyes. "I can't make any promises," he said pleadingly. "It's hard to explain…" That was probably something stupid to say to Jo, of all people. "But I'll try, alright?"

* * *

**Jo offered him a small, uncertain smile, squeezing his hand before pulling away again. He pulled a soft, fluffy towel off of a nearby rack. It was magically warmed, and he unfolded it and held it close to his chest.**

**"Alright," he said agreeably. "Don't fret over it or anything."**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

"That's enough!" Noah shouted as he swung the club on his hand and guided his broomstick down, landing with ease next to the tree where they'd kept their bags and the wooden box with the Quidditch balls set.

He dropped the club next to his bag, then caught the Bludger as it flew at him and put it back in the box. He rubbed his sore shoulder as he straightened up and looked at the sky. It was getting late. Shawn landed next to him a moment later with a muffled thud, and a smug grin on his face.

"You're out of shape, mate! A simple Seeker like me, giving 'Britain's future best Beater' a sore shoulder?" Shawn asked mockingly, quoting the title from a Quidditch magazine piece he'd found, and examining his own broomstick. It had taken quite a few hits throughout their practice sessions the last few days.

"My shoulder is still strong enough to give you a sore jaw," Noah retorted, just as mockingly, wiping his face on his towel, before stuffing his things into his bag. "You got it, dodged everything in last half hour. If you can keep it up, I won't have to worry about covering your skinny ass against Hufflepuff!"

Shawn grinned brightly. "Hey, we should go out later tonight to celebrate! I can call a couple friends, it'll be fun! They've been eager to meet you. I can't, by Merlin's pants, figure out why, but they seem to like you."

Noah snorted a chuckle as he picked up his bag and broomstick. "Not today, sorry. I have stuff to do, and mom will probably need my help in the next few days," he lied. He tossed the broomstick over his shoulder. "We can meet after Christmas if you want, for one last practice session before going back to Hogwarts."

"You're such a bore lately!" Shawn threw his own bag over his shoulder, shaking his head. "Fine, I'll take the girls out and entertain them myself."

"Have fun," Noah muttered, patting Shawn's back. "Merry Christmas, Shawn."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah dropped his black leather jacket and his warmest wool sweater on the couch, next to his helmet and bulky backpack, before joining his mother, Agnes, in the kitchen. His father was away on some business trip and wouldn't return until tomorrow.

"Are you going out?" Agnes asked, frowning a little.

"Uh…" Noah met her eyes for a brief moment, then took his seat at the table. It had taken him until the last minute to make his final decision. So, he'd brought the backpack down already, to keep from changing his mind yet again. "Yeah. Sorry I didn't say anything before, it was a last minute decision. I'm going away for the weekend."

"And you're taking the motorbike? It's the middle of the winter! Where will you stay? You can't ride that motorbike all night…"

Noah sighed, resigned to the inquiry he knew would come.

"I'll be fine! I'll be protected from the cold, and I have money for an Inn. And I promise I won't drive all night." Noah offered his mother a reassuring smile. "It's not like it's the first time." He smiled more widely, more hopefully. "Hmm… You can tell dad, right?"

Agnes let out a pained chuckle, then started filling his plate with mashed potatoes and meatballs. "Alright. But can you at least tell me where you'll be? Are you going with Shawn? He could've come over for dinner."

"No, I'm going alone this time. I'm thinking of going up north, to Scotland." Noah kept his eyes on the food, partly because he was starving, mostly because he was nervous about the likely course of this conversation. He had never been able to lie to his mother; she always knew when he was lying. "It's been a rough year. I just need some time to myself… to do my own thing, away from everyone."

Agnes finished serving her own plate and took her seat across the small table, filling their glasses with pumpkin juice. "I understand, darling," she said quietly.

She reached out and took his hand in hers. Noah felt bad for taking comfort from that touch and still lie to her; he couldn't help but wonder if she suspected what was going on with him. But that was impossible. He hadn't said a word to anyone. "I'm very proud of you, Noah. I'll always love you, darling. No matter what."

"Alright, mom." Noah furrowed his brow, eyes still fixed on the plate as he built shapes on his mashed potatoes with the fork. Something was clogging his throat; he wanted to tell her everything, all the doubts and the worries and the fears. He wanted her to tell him he was being silly for worrying, that there was nothing wrong with him. But what if there was? Would he disappoint her instead? He couldn't bear that thought. "Thanks."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Half hour later, Noah had given his mother one last hug, pulled on the sweater and jacket, and walked out of the house, following the short path to the back, where he kept his bike under a slightly shabby looking shed he'd built himself with Shawn a couple of summers back to show his parents his determination to earn and take proper care of the motorbike he'd been pleading for.

He had gotten it at last, last year. It had looked like a piece of junk when he bought it, but after many summer days spent with his grandfather working like a slave on it, he'd restored it to its full glory.

The sun was setting and the air was sharply cold. He adjusted the scarf around his neck and closed the zipper on his jacket all the way up to his neck. The lining was pretty warm. His breath came out in thick white clouds. He walked over to the bike and stuffed his backpack into the storage space that had been expanded with magic.

He put the warm leather gloves and the helmet on the seat and searched in his pocket with clumsy cold fingers, taking out the note he'd written on a piece of parchment. Looking up to his window, which he'd left partially opened, he let out a sharp low whistle. Speckles popped out a couple seconds later, flying down from the window to rest on his arm.

He attached the message to the owl's leg, petting the patient animal lightly before whispering, "Go quickly, Speckles. Find Josiah." Raising his arm a little, he let Speckles fly away.

Huffing out a white cloud of vapor, he took the map and his wand from his back pocket. "_Lumos_," he murmured, studying the marks and side notes he'd scribbled on the map earlier that day. Getting to Aberdeen wouldn't be very difficult. Finding Jo's house, though… "Stonehaven harbor," he murmured. "I'll find it."

* * *

_"Jo,  
__I'm travelling to Scotland. If your invitation is still up, I'll meet you at the pier, at midday. I'm assuming there's a pier there. If there isn't, I'll be the guy on a motorcycle wandering around completely lost._

_See you soon,  
__Noah"_


	10. Christmas Holidays

**Chapter 10 - Christmas Holidays**

**Josiah was squinting anxiously around the harbor in the crisp, cloudless winter weather. He had on one sweater and two jackets, and he was standing over the rail on his father's boat hoping that the boy hadn't frozen to death on the way – a motorcycle, honestly, of all the things….**

**He looked up at every honk, roar and putter that sounded remotely engine-like, wishing that the time would pass more quickly.**

* * *

Noah had sped through the main road away from his village, happier and freer than he had been in weeks. He would've liked to feel the wind on his face, but doing that in the middle of the winter would be a stupid way to lose a nose to the cold.

He wore a t-shirt, a couple of long-sleeved shirts, a thick, warm wool sweater, a scarf and his leather jacket. Every inch of his skin had been properly covered from the cold wind and the rain that started pouring later on, but no matter. He loved the speed, the pleasure and the rush of an empty road ahead of him, the perspective of driving without schedule or obligations.

Still, by midnight he'd been more than happy to see an Inn when he made a detour into a small village he knew.

The rest of the journey had been a lot faster in the morning – never mind that he'd slept in –, but still it was almost one o'clock when he finally arrived at Stonehaven Harbor. He would've appreciated the landscape a lot more if he wasn't starting to feel nervous with the perspective of that visit.

It only took him a couple minutes to find the harbor in the small village, and he slowly drove by as he looked around at all the boats and the people outside. He squinted at the figure on one of the boats as he approached. He grinned inside his helmet.

He stopped as close to the sidewalk as he could, one foot on the it for balance. He pulled the helmet over his head, looking up at the boat and waving.

* * *

**Jo knew that it was Noah the moment the motorbike pulled in, because nobody around these parts owned anything that fancy or well-kept. The helmet came off to reveal a mess of blond hair, and his heart surged despite himself. He returned the wave, then turned around to hop back onto the pier.**

**"Did you find it alright?" He asked, trotting up to Noah, slightly out of breath by the time he got there.**

**It wasn't very far, but it was cold, and he wasn't exactly in great shape. "We've got a shed out back you can put your bike in," he murmured, not knowing anything about motorcycles at all but trying his best to be accommodating. "And there's leftover scotch eggs and fish stew, if you… you do like fish?" He inquired, realizing that the thought had completely slipped his mind. Clearing his throat and letting his breath catch up with the rest of him, he gave the other boy a small, nervous smile and started toward his thatched-roof house.**

**"I'll unlock the back for you," he called out, motioning around the back of the house. "Just come in whenever you like. I'll tell Mum you're here. Oh, and um," he said a little meekly. "Mind the chicken. She's a bit crabby at strangers."**

* * *

Noah watched Jo with amusement. "It wasn't too difficult. Sorry I'm a little late; didn't mean to keep you waiting. I like everything, don't worry. I never say no to food."

Jo started walking away; Noah followed on his bike. "I hope it's not a bother…"

He grinned. "I'd offer you a ride, but you don't seem like you want one," he teased.

* * *

**"Oh, no, that's fine," Jo said a little breathlessly. "I went below deck to warm my hands from time to time, so…" He flushed at Noah's playful jab, giving him an amused, slightly sarcastic smile.**

**"I never said I was opposed to a ride," he quipped. "Just not on your motorbike." The front door squeaked loudly and then flapped shut with a loud series of smacks on the wooden frame.**

* * *

Noah stared at Jo, his mind completely turned off-balance with that. His face heated up despite the cold. "Good to know," he murmured to no one, as Jo had disappeared inside his house.

Noah took the bike towards the shed Jo had mentioned, in the back. He found the chicken inside. Frowned a little at it; it stared back at him, following his movements.

He took longer than usual, both to make sure the bike wouldn't be in the way in case someone needed to use that space and to give himself time to prepare for the next few minutes.

* * *

**Jo relished the warmth of the small but cozy house, shedding his jackets and rolling up the sleeves of his sweater.**

**"Mum?" He called out, stepping over Pearl, who was spread out on the floor with a fairy coloring book. "Noah's here…."**

**"Oh, your mate from school?" She called back, stirring a large pot full of steaming fish stew. "I'm glad he found it alright; where is he?"**

**"Um, putting his motorbike out back in the shed," he said tentatively, turning around so that he would only feel instead of see his mother's raised eyebrow.**

* * *

Noah made his way into the house, keeping an eye on the chicken. He really hoped it wouldn't scratch his bike. He'd spent every single _knut_ he had on it and his broomstick already.

He entered the house and closed the door behind him as quietly as possible, looking around with interest. He took off his jacket as it was very warm in there. It also smelled deliciously of fish stew - his stomach growled approvingly.

There was a very young girl sprawled on the floor. Noah stopped. "Uh, hey!" He greeted, offering a small tentative smile.

* * *

**"Hi," Pearl said simply, returning his smile and looking back down at her coloring book for a moment before adding. "What's your wand made of? Jo told me in his letter that there are lots of different ones." She pulled something out of her pocket, and Jo, with some amusement and slight embarrassment, realized it was the fake wand that Dan had given her.**

**"Mine is oak with chicken-feather core."**

**Jo opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a voice coming from the direction of the stairs.**

**"Oh, you must be Jo's friend," his older sister said offhandedly, tossing her long, straight hair over her shoulder in a manner that Josiah slightly resented. She could have at least worn more clothes! "I'm his older sister, June."**

**He thought privately to himself that maybe inviting Noah wasn't the best idea he'd ever had.**

* * *

Noah's eyes widened; he looked from the girl to Jo, astonished. He looked back at the girl, not sure whether to laugh or be serious when he saw her fake wand. He chose the latter – even he knew better than to upset women for no good reason, even if they were still kids. "Mine's hornbeam," he hesitated, giving Jo another quick glance. "With dragon hearts-"

He stopped, looking at the girl coming down the stairs. She was quite pretty. "You are?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. None of the girls looked like Jo at all. They were both blonde with light blue eyes and seeing the three of them together only made the differences more obvious.

He told himself to stop looking like a babbling idiot. "I mean… Hi, I'm Noah." He waved slightly, awkwardly. "Nice to meet you all."

* * *

**Jo's mother, always adept at picking out awkward situations, smiled warmly and cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention.**

**"Well it's very nice to meet you, Noah, dear," she began, putting the large pot in the center of the table on a hand-knitted pot holder. It had a reindeer on it. "You must be freezing, driving all that way on a motorbike… would you care for some stew? And then Josiah will show you to his room. He was in a right state since last night, preparing a place for you to sleep…."**

**"Mum," Jo said quietly but with some emphasis, blushing awfully. "I wasn't in a state."**

**"You're always in a state, JoJo," June said, ruffling his hair teasingly. He pursed his lips.**

* * *

Noah stepped forward, trying to remember his manners. He offered a polite smile. "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Johnston. I hope I'm not giving too much trouble." He looked down at the jacket he was still holding. "It wasn't that bad. But I am star- uh, quite hungry, yeah."

* * *

**Josiah tried to shake off his embarrassment by taking the jacket gently but firmly out of Noah's hands and going to hang it up by the door with considerably more care than such a task generally required. On a whim, he pulled out his wand and, with a single flourish, removed a rather large and stubborn stain off of its front pocket before turning to face his family and guest.**

**He offered Noah the chair beside his, his eyes flicking up every now and then to rest on June, who seemed oddly preoccupied with the new addition to their table. She caught his look and waffled a bit under her brother's glare, shrugging defiantly before grabbing the ladle in the soup pot.**

* * *

Noah looked around at everyone, trying not to look too famished or awkward. Then, as Jo busied himself with his jacket and the rest of his family moved towards the table, he took off his sweater as discreetly as he could. All the layers of clothes he was wearing were quickly becoming uncomfortable.

He took his seat next to Jo and looked at the deliciously smelling pots. June took the ladle and he followed her movements; he hadn't eaten anything since he'd left the Inn, hours ago.

* * *

**June dipped the ladle into the stew and held it over Noah's bowl, giving him an amused look.**

**"Say when," she instructed, pouring a hearty helping in front of him, then digging back into the pot for another ladle-full.**

* * *

Noah grinned. "We'll get along, you and I!" He grinned as he saw his bowl filling up. He flushed a little at that; his mother had always said became too loose lipped whenever food was laid in front of him.

"Thanks," he added, still cheerfully when his bowl was filled up to the top. He looked around at everyone else, waiting patiently for everyone to be served.

* * *

**June raised an eyebrow, smiling, but remained silent as she filled up her own bowl. Josiah, however, was staring into his empty bowl like it held all the answers to life and the universe. He knew he should be happy that they were getting along so well, but something in the pit of his stomach gave a jealous squirm.**

**"So," Jo's mother cut across the silence again, determined to have a nice meal so close to Christmas. "Noah, JoJo was telling me that you play that um… er… Widd… Kwiddy…"**

**"Quidditch," Jo finished solemnly, still looking at this bowl, although there was now stew in it.**

**"Quidditch! Now, what's that like?"**

* * *

Noah looked up from his food, a renewed gleam on his eyes. "Oh, it's amazing! I'm Gryffindor's Captain this year," he puffed up at that. "And I'm a Beater."

"It's pretty exciting and quite fast as well. Although the competition at school is nothing like the professional championships and…" he trailed off, suddenly realizing he was rambling to these people he'd just met. He gave Jo a quick glance, then looked back at the women at the table and gave a slight shrug. "I'm hoping I'll be selected to play professionally, after I leave Hogwarts."

He focused on his food, taking a few more bites to keep his mouth busy. Maybe that way he'd stop embarrassing himself. "This is really good. You're a great cook," he praised.

* * *

**"Gryffindor is a house," Josiah quickly translated, all too familiar with the blank looks of polite interest on the faces of his relatives. "A Beater is a position in Quidditch where he takes a bat and hits, um, Bludgers, which are flying balls that try to knock people off of brooms." His mother paled a bit.**

**"That sounds a bit dangerous!" She murmured, sloshing her stew around in her bowl with her spoon. Pearl and June, however, looked positively enthralled. Noah's well-meaning compliment was cut off by an interjection from Pearl:**

**"Why don't you just ride your broom everywhere?"**

* * *

Noah let Jo explain the terms, realizing he'd assumed his family would know everything about the wizarding world because he was used to talking to Jo.

He recognized the expression on Jo's mother's face. It was the same he'd seen in his own grandmother's countless times before. He gave the older woman the same sheepish look he gave his own grandma when she saw him doing something she thought was dangerous.

"It's not so dangerous if the Beaters are good," he said, trying not to sound braggy. At least his Quidditch-related scars weren't visible. "That's my job, to keep my team safe," he decided it was best to leave out the part about trying to hit the other team's players.

He grinned at Pearl. "Ah, I wish! I ride it whenever I can, but we're not supposed to let unknown Muggles see us using magic, and I live in a village with a lot of Muggle families," he pondered for a moment. "But a motorbike is almost like flying, except… lower."

* * *

**"And noisier," Jo added with a small smile, slurping up the last bit of his stew. He felt warm and full and happy, but he caught a look at June – her tall, naturally thin frame – and then felt a bit guilty. "It was good, thanks Mum."**

**He wiped his mouth and offered to take Noah's bowl to the sink. Waving his wand, they dutifully washed themselves and nested neatly into the drainer.**

**"I can show you my room now, if you like," he said lightly.**

* * *

Noah sat back, full and content. He met Jo's eyes and his stomach did a lazy, nervous twirl. "Uh, alright." He looked at the others, giving a tentative smile as he rose. "If you'll excuse me… It was delicious, truly. Thank you."

He picked up his helmet, backpack and sweater from the sofa where he'd left them, and followed Jo.

* * *

**Jo trudged up the stairs, pushing open the door to his room and looking over it. He had cleaned it rather extensively before Noah's arrival, and he felt pretty confident about its presentability.**

**"Um," he said a bit shyly. "We didn't have an extra bed, and I'm not very good at large-object Transfiguration, so I just put an Enlargement Charm on mine…." He trailed off. "I thought we could share. I mean, unless you don't… if you don't want to."**

* * *

Noah stopped near the door and studied the bed; then he glanced back in the direction of the stairs, as if trying to make sure Jo's family wasn't looking over his shoulder. He took a hesitant step into the room.

"Yeah, we can…" He fiddled with the items on his hands. He'd slept over at Shawn's before and they'd shared his room. No big deal. Right? "Sure, why not?"

Trying to look more at ease than he'd sounded, he took a few more steps into the room and dropped his things at the feet of the bed. "Which side is yours?"

* * *

**"Oh," Jo murmured, realizing he hadn't thought of that. "Erm… well, it was rather a small bed before, so I usually just took up both sides." He scratched the side of his head sheepishly. "I'm not really fussed, to be honest." He smiled, feeling a little more at ease now that they were alone.**

**"I'm glad you came."**

* * *

Noah snorted at that. "Yeah, about that… I've been told I'm a kicker, so… I apologize in advance."

He looked at the bed, then pushed his things to the left side, just because it was closer and needed to stay busy.

He allowed himself to relax a bit. He smiled at Jo. "I told you I'd try."

* * *

**"Well, if you wake up with a Binding Charm on your legs… I apologize in advance, too." Josiah grinned, plopping down on the right side and turning his eyes to the slightly water-stained ceiling.**

**"Oh," he said, suddenly remembering something. "I've got to make the house Unplottable again. I did it before I left for Hogwarts; Mum says it's been awful with the pizza delivery boy, he has to drive by four times before he remembers it's here. It's for the better, though…." He got to his feet again, pulling out his warm brown willow wand.**

**He closed his eyes, holding out both hands and trying to concentrate deeply.**

**Professor Flitwick had lent him a book in 5th year called 'Moste Potente Protective Charms for the Paranoyd Sorcerer.' Apart from the dodgy spelling (it had been a very old book) and the fact that he hadn't considered himself paranoid at the time, Josiah found himself more and more often consulting it. And in his heart, he knew that it wasn't nearly enough to secure them from the storm that was coming.**

* * *

The amusement vanished from Noah's face, but he managed to stay quiet while Jo worked on the charm, his thoughts going back to that DADA class where Jo had been attacked by the Slytherin Prefect. Who exactly was he afraid of? Just Death Eaters in general, or someone in particular?

"Jo," he called seriously when the Ravenclaw was done. "Has anyone been bothering you?"

* * *

**Jo opened his eyes a few seconds later, slightly startled by Noah's deep concern. He supposed he shouldn't be; after all, they were… well, he didn't really know what they were, but they were something more than friends, in any case.**

**"Erm," he said softly. "It's a little bit complicated. Anyway, it's done now." He flopped back on the bed and looked up at Noah with wistful eyes and quirked eyebrows.**

**"Fancy a good old-fashioned Muggle board game?" He murmured with mock excitement, kicking off his shoes onto the floor.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella sat at her desk, a plate with toast and a mug of tea at her side, staring at her Transfiguration book without really paying attention to it. She twirled the quill between her fingers as she tried to come up with something else for the last 10 inches she needed for her homework, when she heard the distinct sound of glass shattering downstairs. She looked towards the door, brows furrowed, when she heard her father's voice cursing violently. Her entire body tensed; she untangled herself from the chair and tiptoed to the door, opening it just a crack to listen.

"-show them who they're dealing with! Bloody scum! And that idiot, I'll show him! I'll go there an-" The loud bang of the front door closing startled Daniella. She couldn't hear her father anymore. He'd Disapparated. She listened more closely, trying to figure out if her mother had gone along. Everything was silent.

She left her bedroom and quietly made her way down the stairs. She found her mother in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. She was covering her face with one hand, while the other held a parchment. She was shaking. There were shards of glass all over the floor.

"Mother?" She asked quietly, but still Miranda jumped, startled. "Mother, what happened?" Daniella asked, worried. She pointed her wand at the pieces of glass, and the large bowl repaired itself. She set it on the table before walking up to the upset woman and taking the message from her shaky hands to read it.

"Merlin's pants…" she breathed, anger and worry washing over her in equal parts. "Where did father go?"

"To get your brother back, of course…" Her mother answered, blinking rapidly and wiping out the tears. "He'll sort everything out, you'll see." She took Daniella's hand in hers and patted it. "Don't you worry, darling, your father will take care of it."

Daniella looked from her mother back to the parchment, frowning. "It says here they suspect his involvement in a case of '_breaking and entering a Muggle's house with the purpose of vandalizing it_'", she read out loud. "How exactly-"

"Your brother is completely innocent, you know that!"

_Do I?_ Daniella wondered, but didn't say the words out loud. She would've been worried with Jo's family if she hadn't just corresponded with her friend that morning, so she knew whatever this had been, had had nothing to do with him. But she couldn't, in all honesty, be certain her brother was innocent.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

"So, mother…" Daniella started, hoping this conversation would be a little easier than the several ones before about this specific subject. "I need to get to the store today for the last fitting and I need to take the money, or they won't finish it."

Miranda closed the Witch Weekly magazine she was reading, took off her reading glasses and beamed at Daniella. "Oh, of course, darling, let me just get my shoes and-"

Daniella's eyes widened. "No," she said quickly. "It's really not necessary, I can go by myself and…" She trailed off as her mother was already on her way out of the living room. Daniella pursed her lips, steeling herself. "You really don't have to go with me, it's only the last fitting…" She said in a last desperate attempt to avoid another session of attempted brainwashing.

"Nonsense, darling! I'll go with you." She looked at Daniella with the same sad, heavy expression she'd had since the day before; it made Daniella squirm uncomfortably. "Since this problem with your brother, I… I could use the distraction. You won't say no to your mother, will you?"

Daniella closed her eyes and sighed heavily. _Bloody hell…_ "Alright, fine."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

One hour later, Daniella was wiggling into her new dress in one of the back rooms of Twilfitt and Tatting, for the final fitting. She didn't feel very comfortable in such a fancy shop. It wasn't the kind of place they could afford to shop in all the time. But since she would go with Logan, who had also been invited - that was if he was released after the hearing the next day, that was - her mother was taking the most out of this opportunity. She saw it as a sign that Daniella was finally resigning to assume her 'role in the family'. That thought made her uncomfortable, but she was growing tired of the arguments.

"You know I love you, Daniella. You and your brother. If anything happened to either of you…" Looking at the mirror, Daniella could only see the top of her mother's head behind her, as she busily double-checked all the pins and needles while the seamstress had gone into another room. "You don't understand how the world works yet, but you will. These are very-"

"-dangerous times," Daniella repeated along, rolling her eyes. "Yes, mother, I've heard that speech a thousand times already, and I've only been back home for a week!"

Miranda grabbed her arm and made Daniella turn around to face her. "Do you really think I don't understand how you feel?" The woman asked in a low, severe voice. Daniella frowned, surprised by that change in behaviour. "I used to be like you, Daniella, I had my head full of dreams and ideals, thought I could change the world! I thought…" She shook her head and sighed heavily, as if trying to contain a strong emotion.

Daniella stared in shock, her mouth slightly open. She rarely ever heard her mother talk with this much intensity.

"It doesn't matter. It's different now, Daniella." She eased the grip on Daniella's arm, patting it gently. "You have to lock your heart away and use your head, darling. You'll see, in time, that I'm right. Family is all that matters. Our blood, Daniella. That's the best protection we can have. You and Logan…"

"Are you happy, mother?!" Daniella asked abruptly, unable to stop herself.

Her mother's smile was shaky. "I have you and your brother! You are the most important things in the world for me. You'll understand one day, when you have children of your own. I'm happy as long as you're safe and sound."

Daniella searched her mother's eyes. "Are you _happy_, though?" She asked slowly, emphasizing each word. "Are you happy with father? Are you happy with your life?!"

"Darling, you're still too young to understand how things work..."

Daniella opened her mouth to protest, but the seamstress gave a short knock on the door and entered the room, apologizing for the delay. Daniella gave her mother another long look, but she'd slipped back into that polite-but-excited-about-her-daughter posture.

"I'm so happy you're going to this party! Oh, cheer up, darling, this is a great thing!" Her mother beamed at her.

Daniella huffed. The seamstress got back on her feet and told her she could take the dress off. Daniella wasted no time.

They left the store considerably poorer and with the promise that the dress would be delivered at their address the next day. Daniella walked out into the cold, pulling the scarf more tightly around her neck. It was still early and she wasn't eager to go back home.

Jo was far out of reach, but she suspected someone else could be a lot closer. She looked over the bustling street, crowded with people shopping for Christmas presents, at the Knockturn Alley. She knew Ezra and Sabrina's families had an Apothecary shop there. Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary, if she wasn't mistaken. Would he be there now? She bit her lip. Would Sabrina be there? She didn't look forward to seeing _her_. But what was life without taking some risks? And potions ingredients were never too many, right?

"You go ahead, mother, I'm going to meet a friend first," Daniella said to her mother and, before she could protest, "it won't take long. I'll be home early."

Miranda's expression hardened. "Is it that…"

Daniella saw her struggling to complete the sentence. She had never been able to say Jo's name, as if the mere mention of the boy's name was enough to soil her reputation. Before she said the one word that would make the conversation escalate into an argument, Daniella said impatiently, "No, it's not him! For Merlin's sake, mother. Go! I can take care of myself."

* * *

**Ezra wiped his hands rather primly on his dark green work apron, and the fireslug slime smoked harmlessly against the fabric. It had been a rather long day.**

**Normally he worked this shift with Sabrina, but she had gone to France to have a party dress commissioned. And so it happened that Ezra was handling all the bulk orders for the holiday season by himself, rifling through barrels and boxes and grabbing fireslugs in giant fistfuls. The bell on the door jingled for what must've been the billionth time that day, and he heaved a soft sigh and prepared to go to the front.**

* * *

The store looked darker than most stores in Diagon Alley – or maybe it was just her perception of the place and its location – but Daniella was still glad to get out of the street and the weird looks she'd been getting. She was always uncomfortable in this street.

She looked around at the herbs, plants and even animals exposed, at the instruments and tools, until her eyes lay on the counter. She allowed herself a moment of relief for Sabrina's absence, but there was no one else there either.

She tapped her fingers on the counter, wondering if she should call out, when Ezra made his appearance. "Good afternoon," she greeted with an amused, but straight face, looking over his outfit.

* * *

**Ezra's pale face threatened to flush pink, but didn't quite follow through. He recovered quickly, smirking a bit half-heartedly.**

**"Is it? I wouldn't know; I haven't seen the light of day since I've arrived for vacation." Somewhere in a corner, a rare species of toad gave a hearty croak. "Shall I help you find anything in particular? Rat spleen is the sale-of-the-day."**

* * *

Daniella raised an eyebrow. "You could just…" She made sure they were alone and lowered her voice. "Run out before they wake up." She paused thoughtfully. "If you can handle the endless shouting after, that is."

"Uh, no thanks, but I need the regular set of ingredients we use in Hogwarts. Mine's running low."

* * *

**Ezra gave a small smile at her words.**

**"Of course." He turned to a very high shelf behind the register desk that was stacked high with hundreds of glossy wooden boxes. Engraved on the front of each were the words 'Standard Book of Potions Ingredient Set.' They were arranged by year of study.**

**"I'm not supposed to tell people this for obvious reasons, but if you by some divine streak of inspiration requested that I remove them from the box and put them in refill-friendly bags, mayhap it would save you one galleon and two sickles."**

* * *

"Ah," Daniella said, giving a lopsided smirk. "Indeed, if I was able to save up a galleon here, I could maybe buy a friend a drink… if he was brave enough to face the wrath of his family for leaving work earlier, that is." She pondered for a moment. "I do own a fancy wooden box. More than one, in fact. I really just need the ingredients," she said solemnly.

* * *

**Ezra mulled over her words as he gently siphoned the ingredients into several small paper bags, then wrapped them in a still bigger bag with scratchy twine handles.**

**"One galleon and seven sickles," he mused, sliding the bag across the smooth wooden countertop. "I'd leave in the flutter of a batwing if it didn't come directly out of my wages," he drawled. "Although I suppose it's perfectly acceptable to leave in two flutters. Excuse me while I fetch my coat."**

* * *

Daniella handed him the money, chuckling. Taking her bag, she entertained herself by looking more closely at the contents on the shelves while she waited for him.

She'd come here a couple times before with her father, when she was little. Since then, this place had a strange effect on her, a mix of fascination for all the things one could use to create a potion and goosebumps, considering the creepiest things in there that would never be exposed in Diagon Alley's store.

"I wouldn't want you to be shouted at more than absolutely necessary, so where do you think we can safely go?" She asked when he returned.

* * *

**Ezra waved his dark, handsome wand and all of the shades on the store windows fell down with a sharp rap. The sign on the door changed promptly from "Open for Business" to "Out for Lunch".**

**"I nearly always find myself at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch," he murmured, counting a few clinking coins in the pocket of his winter outer-robe. "Tom always looks incredibly perplexed when I ask for a humble fish and chips, and the amusement is worth the two extra knuts."**

* * *

Daniella nodded approvingly. "Fish and chips sounds lovely right now."

They left the store; Daniella slipped her free hand into her pocket, trying to keep it warm. "Have you really been working all of your vacation time?" She looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Not even a break to buy fancy clothes for your party?"

* * *

**"I've got all manner of fancy clothes," Ezra replied, somewhat shortly, as though there was a hidden annoyance about the subject he couldn't quite keep under wraps. He softened his tone a little, pulling his robe more tightly over his work clothes against the chill. "I'd much rather listen to a chorus of slimy toads than my mother go on about French dress robes, if that's what you mean."**

**"What have you been doing all this time?" He murmured, in a painful attempt at small conversation.**

* * *

That made Dan laugh. "I have a pretty good idea. Thankfully, my mother can't quite afford to send me to France, although I'm sure she tried hard to."

"Well," she started, "I told myself I'd show some self-discipline and do all the homework I had to take care of. I've been... mildly successful at that," she said solemnly. "Other than that, I've just been experimenting with some potions, which is why I needed a refill, and generally avoiding my family."

She'd said the words in a casual tone, but his previous quip got her thinking. She pretended she didn't care, tried to make it look like it was just a game. But it wasn't. The only difference between them was that she'd made a conscious decision to defy them. She'd chosen to fight this battle.

* * *

**Ezra nodded, looking off to the side with a thoughtful tug at the corner of his lips. He was not, for all intents and purposes, a big talker. He was a good actor, certainly; but he felt, very acutely, that he and Daniella had somehow moved past the point of usefulness for that particular skill.**

**He did not know how to have a real friend.**

**"Then, you…" he cleared his throat. "You've picked out your dress, have you?"**

* * *

"Yes," Daniella nodded, suddenly a little more self-conscious. "It's supposed to be sent to my house tomorrow."

The Leaky Cauldron appeared in front of them. Daniella gave Ezra a curious glance. "I'm still not sure why you invited me. Do you feel like you need more excitement in your life?" She asked, teasingly. "Especially since Logan was invited as well. I don't think we've gotten along for longer than a couple hours since I was eleven, you know?"

* * *

**"Was he?" Ezra murmured, furrowing his eyebrows a bit. "I didn't invite him." He held open the large, battered door for his companion before slipping inside.**

**The Leaky Cauldron was almost always bustling, but it had thinned out a bit since the threat of Death Eater activity. Regardless, the sound of muffled conversations and clinking mugs could be heard throughout the small dining room.**

**Several heads turned when he walked in. It should make him happy, he thought rather bitterly, to be recognized as the heir to a rich and powerful pureblood family. Lately it only made him morose. He sat at a table, and a rather short waiter rushed over to them.**

* * *

Daniella entered the room, immediately noticing the difference in the number of heads turning since she'd been there a couple hours earlier. Sighing to herself and ignoring everyone, she sat across from Ezra, pondering his answer.

She couldn't deny she was relieved he hadn't been the one inviting Logan. She couldn't brush off the feeling that every moment she spent near Logan now was just another way for him to make sure she wasn't in the company of someone 'not suitable'.

They ordered and, as the waiter walked away, she said, "Well, I don't know who did, but he's going. My escort," she snorted, annoyed. "Like I need babysitting." She studied Ezra. Since both Jo and his family were still safe, she was pretty sure Ezra hadn't said anything damning about them to Logan. "I wanted to thank you…" She said in a low voice. "For not telling him anything about Jo."

* * *

**Ezra thought about this critically for several moments. His mother was in charge of the invitations every year, so the safe bet would be that she had assumed Logan was a close friend. Still, hearing that he had been invited only a short time after he had decided to invite Daniella…**

**He looked up, his face blank at her unexpected gratitude.**

**"Oh," he said finally, with grim realization. "The Muggleborn." He looked down at his butterbeer and watched the remnants of foam swirl lazily over the top.**

**"Your brother has an unfortunate habit of putting his faith in the wrong peo-" his sentence was cut off by his surprise to see his mother and Sabrina arrive with a crack at the Leaky Cauldron's far door. "Merlin's trousers," he said under his breath, attempting to hide his face with one pale, thin hand.**

* * *

Daniella followed his look curiously. All blood fled from her face at the sight of Sabrina.

She looked back at her own plate. "Bloody hell," she mumbled, fiercely wishing she could just Disapparate right then. "Who's the woman with her?" She whispered, sinking in her chair.

* * *

**The Lady Greengrass was quite a formidable woman by most accounts. She wore long, intricate dresses, with delicate shawls and magnificent hats. She walked upright as though she had been born with the ability to balance a book on the top of her barely-grey head. The clicking of her high-heeled boots might well have been magically magnified, considering all the attention that it drew.**

**"Ah, Ezra, darling," the last word lingered and soured on the air, containing no more affection than spoiled milk. "Why, I thought you'd be at work." To Ezra's great annoyance, Sabrina had half-hidden herself behind his mother's robe and was – faintly, to be sure – smirking.**

**"I-"**

**"Oh, and who is this!" She interrupted him loudly, causing several heads to turn and survey the scene unfolding. She bent down slightly and, with a comically large grin of polished cream-white teeth, gave Daniella a wink. "One of our own, I should hope," she added with a little more steel in her unbearably sweet voice.**

* * *

Daniella disliked the woman from the moment she opened her mouth. She considered the possibility of doing something less proper, but it was clear that this was Ezra's mother and he wasn't enjoying the situation.

Swallowing her annoyance, she forced out a small smile. "Good afternoon," she greeted. "I'm Daniella Hawke."

* * *

**Ezra's already prominent jawline was now sharp enough to slice vegetables on, and he struggled to find a single dulcet word to give the pair of women in front of him.**

**"Mother," he greeted in a calm manner that suggested a temper which rivaled the ocean in depth. "Daniella is attending our party by my invitation. She just had a few… questions."**

**"I see," was his mother's reply, every note longer and more melodious than necessary. "You've finished, then? I daresay you wouldn't make poor Sabrina work your shift all on her own. That would be quite rude."**

**Ezra knitted his hands for a moment, fighting within himself. And his mother knew it – oh, she knew, he could tell – she was relishing every second of his blatant discomfort. This was the punishment, he was dimly aware, for seeing a girl alone who hadn't be approved beforehand.**

**"No, mother," he said softly, pushing back on the table and slowly rising to his feet. He gave Daniella what he meant to be an apologetic look, but it turned out to be mostly hollow.**

**"I will look forward to seeing you nearer to Christmas," he murmured, barely audible, before turning.**

* * *

Daniella's anger grew with every word and every gesture of his mother during their interaction. A glance at Sabrina almost made the words clogging her throat slip out; she had to remind herself this wasn't her battle.

She bristled at the blatant disregard the woman showed for her, like she wasn't even worthy of the woman's attention. But the worst part was Ezra's expression. She felt bad for him and with him, but most of all she was pissed off with him.

Why did he submit himself to being treated this way? She wanted to take his hand – or maybe his ear – and pull him out of there, away from those two but, instead, she returned the look he gave her, unable to hide her feelings anymore.

"Thank you for answering my questions," she said stiffly. The words felt heavy and sour coming out of her lips. Time to go back to pretense and fake-flattery. "My brother and I are very pleased with the invitation. I'll see you then."

She sat there, unable to move, hating that whole situation, hating how everything in her life was so fake and shallow, smothering the few good moments she had.


	11. Greengrass Mansion

**Chapter 11 - Greengrass Mansion**

**Josiah lay perfectly still, staring at the shadowy blankness of his wall and thinking uncomfortably.**

**The sex had been good, he told himself brightly; but then, the sex was always good. The conversation had been acceptable, in the vein that they were both boys and Noah wasn't exactly the type to share his feelings. But there was something missing, and its absence made everything else feel slightly out of place. In the silence of the after-the-afterglow, Josiah questioned his feelings.**

**He felt Noah's socked foot brush up against his linen-covered leg, and he tilted his head back to look at the other boy. He was in fact solidly asleep.**

**He had a nearly angelic face when he was sleeping, Jo thought absentmindedly, which made it all the worse. He squinted very solemnly at the other boy, as though staring at him harder would make Jo like him more purely. He sighed softly instead.**

* * *

Noah woke up when his foot hit something hard. He struggled against the fogginess of sleep. "What the…?" He opened his eyes to find Jo next to him on the bed. "Sorry," he mumbled, shifting back into his side of the bed. "It's not morning yet, is it?"

He blinked hard, trying to keep his eyes open. "Something wrong?"

* * *

**Josiah made a small, negative noise in the back of his throat.**

**"Just thinking." He rolled over to look at the digital clock on the nightstand with its huge, red letters. "It's only two in the mo'."**

**He smiled in an attempt to be reassuring, then joked into his pillow, "It's fine, but I really will Full-Body Bind you if you do it again."**

* * *

Noah didn't reply for a while. He wasn't very good at picking up hints when it came to people's moods, but that hadn't sounded like the cheerful, bubbly Jo at all.

He reached out under the covers timidly, until his fingers touched Jo's arm. "'you sure?"

* * *

**Jo rolled over again, putting his hand over Noah's. They were laying face to face.**

**"Noah, what are we?" He asked in a half-whisper, knowing that was a loaded question but needing the answer desperately.**

* * *

Noah looked into Jo's eyes, now fully awake. He was very aware of Jo's warm hand on his. It pinned him in place, even if it wasn't a physically forceful touch. He couldn't run away now. If he did, he would probably never be allowed back in Jo's life.

He swallowed, as if trying to get rid of the tightness in his chest. "I don't know…" he said honestly, feeling guilty. "What do you want us to be?" He whispered.

* * *

**Jo laid his head on Noah's arm, relaxing his hand over the other boy's and sighing.**

**"I'm not sure," he replied, which felt slightly anticlimactic. "Just together, I suppose… just… you know."**

* * *

Noah looked up at the ceiling. "There's no one else I'd rather be with," he said quietly. It was easier to say it in the dark; less embarrassing, even if the guilt was still there. For what, he wasn't sure. For hiding? For fear of losing something?

"My parents… my team…" the words slipped out unintentionally. He almost hoped Jo wasn't listening, as the words kept pouring out. "I need them to respect me. If I fail… it's my dream… It's the only thing I'm good at."

"But I…" he closed his eyes, exhaling softly. He lowered his voice until it was little more than a breath. "I like you. I don't want to let you go."

* * *

**"I know," Josiah murmured, quickly beginning to wish that he had said nothing at all. He respected Noah's dreams and his decisions, but that didn't stop it from hurting.**

**"But I don't think it's all you're good at," he whispered a bit stubbornly, cuddling into the crook of Noah's arm.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah rubbed at his eyes wearily, watching the pots and pans gracefully bubble and swing and pour. It was a miracle that he could still do his magic properly, he thought to himself. Usually when his emotions got too… well, emotional… things didn't go exactly as he planned.**

**The grey-blue morning light was just starting to tint the curtains, and he looked up the brown-black shadows of the empty staircase. Even in a full house, he felt very lonesome.**

* * *

Noah stared at the ceiling, painfully aware of Jo's absence. He'd woken up to find himself alone in Jo's bed. He felt like an horrible person; he'd hurt Jo, had let him down.

He certainly wasn't acting like a Gryffindor now; he was being selfish and a coward. That realization made him ashamed. He'd been so worried in trying to satisfy his own desires while keeping his perfectly planned life, he'd forgotten about Jo's feelings. Jo hadn't demanded anything from him, and Noah had happily taken advantage of that.

He left the bed – clearly Jo wasn't returning soon – pulled on a sweater and searched his backpack. A minute later, he made his way down the stairs, through the empty rooms, following the muffled sounds and the smell of food coming from the kitchen.

He found Jo there – alone –, and quietly approached to stand behind the other boy. The things Jo had said were still playing on loop in his mind, as if they'd been said only a few minutes ago and he couldn't shake them out. He slipped his arms around him. "What do you want, Jo?" He asked again, seriously.

* * *

**The feel of the other boy's arms around him made Jo lose focus, and one of the pans dipped threateningly mid-pour. Josiah jumped a bit, waving his wand and resting it on the stovetop. He lowered his arm to rest on Noah's.**

**"I love you," he said quietly, realizing that wasn't an answer to the question he'd been asked. His eyes threatened to water. His chest burned with the confession. "Are you hungry?"**

* * *

Noah stared at the wall ahead of them for a while, speechless. He hadn't expected that. He'd never heard anyone other than his mother say that to him and really mean it. He held him more tightly, as if with that he could hold that… _something_… so precious that he feared losing.

"You just keep turning my world upside down," he whispered. He was silent for a while. Why couldn't he say it back? Why couldn't he be sure if what he felt was love? "I have something for you…"

Releasing the grip on Jo, he took his wand out of his pocket and summoned the package he had left in the living room. He'd done his best to wrap it up himself.

* * *

**"Oh," Jo murmured, still blushing, his face a mixture of heat and shock and pleasant surprise. He wasn't sure what to make of Noah's reaction, but it didn't seem to be disapproving. An oddly-wrapped package came hurtling into the kitchen, and he looked down at the haphazardly taped paper. His mouth quivered into a smile. Somewhere on the stove, a pot of gravy hissed from too much heat.**

**With a small yelp, he tended to it before turning back to the package.**

**It was obviously a book; he peeled back the paper carefully and mouthed the title with a warm grin: '_101 Quidditch Injuries; 102 Ingenious Treatments'_.**

**"It's lovely," he said, still grinning. "Really, thank you. Don't go getting hurt so I have to use it, though." He shuffled a bit, holding the book to his chest with both arms.**

**"I have something for you, too, but um… you know, breakfast."**

* * *

Noah grinned lightheartedly looking at Jo's state by the stove. His family had been right about that. How could anyone be that charming?

"I'm glad you like it." His grin became lopsided at his warning. "I wasn't thinking about doing that… until now." Giving in to a pressing need, he pulled Jo closer and pressed their lips together briefly.

"I'll help, I'm good at setting the table," he winked mischievously. "It was one of the first charms I've ever learned, so I could be done with the chore more quickly."

* * *

**Jo gave a short, haughty moan into the kiss, then turned around and busied himself by putting scotch eggs onto a platter and gravy into a bowl. Honestly, what was this? He was practically having a… well, steamy love affair of some sort in his own kitchen. He knew he should feel a bit scandalous at the whole situation, but he honestly couldn't be buggered at all.**

**"Have at it then," he said with a twitchy grin, several full plates of food hovering mid-air and waiting for a proper place setting.**

* * *

Noah flipped his wand between his fingers dramatically, his smirk now smug as he turned and hovered the plates onto the table. He still remembered how many plates he'd broken in the process but, apart from being unable to position them perfectly distant from each other, he was a lot more accurate at it now. Glasses followed, as well as forks, knives, and finally napkins.

When he was done, a couple minutes later, he puffed up, arms folded, and gave Jo a questioning look.

* * *

**Josiah tried to keep a look of warm confidence on his face the entire time; if anything broke, of course, he could repair it near-instantly, no harm done. Growing up in a Muggle household as he had, he still did not relish the sound of broken glass.**

**He was pleasantly surprised. A fork was crooked here and there, sure, but it was solid charmwork. He beamed at Noah.**

**"You perfected that yourself?" He asked sweetly, gripping his wand and using it to lower the platters onto the table. "I learned mine from a book. Reputable, of course, but no guesswork involved… I can tell by the placement of the glasses counter-clockwise that it's your own spell." He realized that his compliment might not sound the way he had intended it to, and quickly backtracked.**

**"I mean, that's… that's a good thing."**

* * *

Noah frowned and looked back at the table. Counter-clockwise?! "Uh…" He rubbed the back of his head, shrugging sheepishly. "I always had good intuition when it came to hovering things. Even before going to Hogwarts. But I didn't know I was placing them wrong, no one ever told me…"

* * *

**"It's not wrong!" Jo assured him hurriedly, lowering himself into a chair. "Just different…" he trailed off, stuffing a scotch egg into his mouth and then having the decency to look sheepish about his appetite.**

**"Do you take milk or juic-" he had his wand poised to summon both of them when he spotted a shiny mass of golden hair just behind the couch. Pearl ducked quickly out of his view, and his wand shot out a couple of purple sparks. He wondered how long she had been there.**

* * *

Noah had been hoping they didn't have to wait for everyone to eat, so he happily followed Jo's lead and filled his plate. He looked up at Jo, his mouth full, then followed his gaze.

His eyes widened a little at the sight of his sister. He'd thought they were alone… He offered a shaky smile, then looked back at Jo. "Juice, please," he said, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

* * *

**Josiah smiled back, but his eyes were still wide with the shock. He summoned the juice, then pushed his chair back from the table.**

**"Just a moment," he murmured quietly, taking a few steps out of the kitchen. "Pea?" He called out, but not too loudly. "It's not nice to eavesdrop, you know."**

**Pearl crawled out from behind the couch with a tortured look on her innocent face.**

**"I know," she replied, her lip beginning to quiver. "I j-just came down because I wanted to watch you do m-magic," she stuttered, unable to hold back her tears now. He felt a pang of guilt.**

**"Well, you're not in trouble," he said gently, kneeling down on the carpet and pulling her into a hug. "Hush now." She snuffled against his nightshirt, and he wondered what was going on in Noah's mind behind him.**

**"Did you see anything other than magic?" He asked offhandedly, and the girl looked up from his lap, her face blotchy and flushed. She looked over his shoulder at Noah, then back to her brother.**

**"I've seen June do the same," she said rather defiantly after a few moments. "It's not a big deal to kiss boys. I've seen it loads of times." It was Jo's turn to flush.**

**"Right," Josiah chanced evenly, not sure how to proceed. "But – er – Pea, you've got to promise me you won't tell anyone, alright? Not Mum or Dad or Juney or anyone." She blinked.**

**"Why, is it a big deal?" Faint chicken clucking could be heard from the garden.**

**"Er, some people think that when boys kiss other boys, it's a big deal," he said, trying to choose his words carefully. She pondered this for a moment, then looked back up at Josiah with round eyes.**

**"Can I have a scotch egg and some juice?"**

* * *

Noah started to get up when he heard the poor girl crying, only to sink back into his chair at her answer, his eyes piercing the scotch eggs in front of him. He followed the conversation without saying a word. Merlin's beard, he had gotten overconfident and completely lost his common sense.

"Sure," he said, a little too cheerfully, as he hurried to fill a glass for the girl. His mind was racing when he glanced at Jo. What would they do if she told anyone?

* * *

**Pearl joined them at the table, looking at Noah in awestruck silence. Her brother was a wizard, sure, but this boy was a wizard, and his parents were wizards, too. She wondered what growing up in a family full of wizards must be like.**

**"Pea, remember when I told you about Quidditch?" The girl nodded fervently. "Noah plays Quidditch. He's a Beater. He's on his house team, you know. He's very good." Jo helped himself to another scotch egg.**

**"Is the food at Hogs Warts very good?" She asked, nibbling a bite out of her own egg. "You've gotten softer since the summer." Her tone was innocent and a bit delicate, but Josiah stopped midchew and blushed scarlet.**

* * *

Noah choked on his juice; it took him a few moments to regain some self-control. He'd barely known Pearl for a day, and he could already tell she was a handful.

He looked from her to Jo still trying to catch his breath. He thought the safest option was probably to distract her with some magic story.

"Do you know how I learned to fly on a broomstick?" He asked her. "I was three years old or so; my parents had bought me a kid's broomstick, one that only hovered a little above the ground. One morning, I was playing outside with my dad. He was teaching me how to brake with his own old broomstick, because I kept smashing against the furniture. But he had to go inside for a minute. So, I took his broomstick – it was so big I could barely pick it up – and I climbed to the lowest branch of an old, twisted tree we have in the yard." His grin was dreamy and mischievous. "I'm still not sure how I managed to get up there. But I held on to the broomstick as best I could, and jumped off."

* * *

**Josiah grinned despite himself at the look on Noah's face; it made his heart flutter in more ways than one. He turned sternly to Pearl.**

**"You must never try that with a regular broomstick," he said firmly. "Regular old broomsticks don't fly, and if you break your leg, Mum will have my head, do you hear?" He could see the look of disappointment settling onto his sister's face. She looked at Noah sullenly, seeking outside comfort.**

**"Well it sounds like fun," she mumbled, casting a furtive glance at her brother, the party pooper. She brightened a bit as she thought of a new question.**

**"Did you always know you were a wizard?" She asked, resting her chin on her palm.**

* * *

Noah winced a little under Pearl's pleading gaze, but he gave his best serious nod. "Yes, you definitely shouldn't try that with a regular broomstick, or by yourself. I broke my arm with that little stunt. I could search my old broomstick, and tea-" He glanced at Jo and swallowed the rest of the sentence. "Uh, I mean, one of these days… if your parents allow, of course." He put another forkful of eggs in his mouth to keep it busy.

He pondered her question. "Hmm… not until I was a little older than the episode with the broomstick. I vanished the whole contents of the soup pot one day, because I didn't want to eat it…" he hesitated again, then offered Jo an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm a terrible role model."

* * *

**Jo raised one eyebrow in gentle warning, slurping the last bit of gravy off of his spoon. If his mother was nervous around motorbikes, it was a far cry from how she felt about magic broomsticks. Pearl looked a little too excited for his comfort.**

**He gave Noah a teasing look, crossing his utensils on his plate.**

**"Well, I don't think I've ever done anything quite like that," he joked at his own expense. "Never met a soup pot I didn't like. One time, though, I kept the boat out on the lake out of sheer force of will 'cause I didn't want to go home yet. Threw Dad for a loop, that did. Wind was blowing in his favor and all."**

* * *

Noah sobered up after Jo's look. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get Pearl that excited.

"Well, that's a good way to introduce Muggles to magic," he said cheerfully, finishing his breakfast. "Did you know how you were doing it?"

* * *

**"I was pretending the water was treacle," Jo replied a bit sheepishly. "You see, apart from not wanting to go home, I was also rather hungry, and..." he stopped and looked down at Pearl, who seemed a bit dejected.**

**"There, now, Pea," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. He gathered up the plates by hand and carried them to the sink. They slid in with a clatter that made him wince.**

**"I'll put the leftovers in the fridge, I expect," he murmured offhandedly. "Haven't the foggiest what's taking them so long to wake up, what with all the racket we've been making." He looked at the clock wearily.**

* * *

Noah sighed; that had been one of the weirdest, best weekends he'd ever had – despite being caught with Jo. It made him a little sad that it was almost over.

"Maybe Pearl used her own magic to keep the noise from reaching upstairs," he teased, winking at her.

* * *

**"Must've been," Jo said with a small grin, which made Pearl giggle despite herself. He turned to Noah, a little more seriously.**

**"You'll wait until it warms up to start traveling again, won't you?"**

* * *

"I can't wait too long, mom is expecting me back tonight… but I can stay a couple hours longer, I suppose. It'll be warm enough by then."

He rose from his chair, realizing he was still in his boxers. He flushed a little, discreetly pulling his sweater down. "Er… I'm going to go back up and…" _get dressed_, he finished to himself.

* * *

**Jo offered him a warm, lopsided grin, waving him off. Just knowing that he would have Noah's company for a few more hours made him feel better about the whole ordeal. Then again, he still wasn't sure exactly what the ordeal was; the sex? the murky relationship definition? the kiss? It was anyone's guess, really. He just couldn't be buggered.**

**"Morning cartoons ought to be on, Pea," he reminded her, and her eyes lit up with anticipation. She planted herself in front of the television just as June came down the stairs, yawning, taking a second look as Noah walked by her with his sweater pulled over his bum. She raised an eyebrow at Josiah, who shrugged with a half-smile.**

* * *

Noah's eyes widened again at the sight of June. Flushing and barely containing a pained groan, he made his way up to Jo's room as quickly as possible, his heart skipping a nervous beat at the offhanded thought that all that was missing now was Jo's mother showing up for him to die of embarrassment.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella brushed her hair back carefully while Logan Apparated next to her. "You could've waited, Dany," Logan said, brushing off his sleeves. He looked over her, rolling his eyes. "You don't need to try that hard to look pretty, sister. But I'm glad you're willing to try. We have a great chance tonig-"

"Save the speech, Logan," Daniella interrupted him, starting towards the building with the most lights on and people in fancy clothes walking into.

She was still very angry with him. He'd just barely escaped being sent to Azkaban, and he was acting like everything was just fine. His quip about having the right friends when she confronted him made her uneasy.

She was also not sure what she was doing here; maybe she was a masochist. That must be it. She'd raised her expectations about tonight, but this stupid party promised to be nothing more than a nightmare, judging by the taste she'd gotten in Diagon Alley meeting Ezra's mother. But she had bought a very expensive dress and very uncomfortable high heel shoes, so she might as well put them to use.

They stopped in front of the building, studying it. It was quite magnificent, shouting wealth through every stone. If it looked like this on the outside, she could only imagine how much bigger and more extravagant it was inside.

"One day I'll live in a place like this," Logan said greedily. "You could too, Dany, if you wanted. This is what a real house is supposed to look like." Something in the way he said it made Daniella grimace. "Doesn't it look amazing?"

She thought of their house, a smaller, less wealthy version of that building. Then thought of Jo's house, warm and cosy, thought of the times she'd been there. "It looks like a prison," she muttered. Huffing out a sigh, she raised an open hand. "Did you bring the invitations?" When he handed them over to her, she approached the gate and the house-elf that was receiving the guests.

* * *

**Pokey was busily standing by the door, sorting invitations into piles as Master had ordered her. She hadn't seen Young Master Ezra; he had forbidden anyone to enter his room for any reason, and that had been 8 o'clock in the morning. She would have sighed, but her orders were to appear pleasantly receptive.**

**"Mistress Daniella and Master Logan, your invitations, please," Pokey squeaked, holding out both of her long-fingered elf hands. "The floating holly bunch will direct you to your seats!"**

* * *

Daniella offered Pokey a genuine smile. She liked the house-elf and she wasn't going to pass the chance of spending even a few seconds with someone pleasant tonight.

"Goodnight, Pokey," She greeted as she handed her the invitations. "You're not going to stay outside all night, are you?"

Logan was looking at her like she'd grown a second head, but Daniella couldn't care less.

* * *

**Pokey bowed deeply, nearly upsetting the quickly growing stacks of invitations. Her ears flopped daintily, and she rose again.**

**"Mistress Daniella is very kind. Pokey shall stay outside until Pokey has finished carrying out her Master's orders."**

* * *

Daniella narrowed her eyes. Which Master, she wanted to ask, but people were gathering behind them, huffing out as they realized she was wasting her time talking to a house-elf.

Logan took her elbow, firmly guiding her into the house. "Alright, Pokey. I will see you inside," was all she had time to say.

She took off the outer robe when they entered the warm hallway, adjusted the fabric on her dress and ran her fingers through her slightly wavy hair so it fell smoothly over her back. She wasn't used to wear jewelry; she was very aware of the light brush of the pendant against her neck. She was more used to high heels, which was good, because she had no intention of embarrassing herself by falling.

They were guided into the ballroom. She couldn't help but stare for a few moments at the magnificent decoration. "Impressed now?" Logan whispered against her ear, but Daniella wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

She'd spotted Sabrina across the room, near Ezra's mother – obviously. She started heading in the opposite direction when Logan spotted the hosts as well. "Come on, we should greet them."

Daniella pulled away from his grip. "You go ahead. I'll meet you there," _after I've gotten drunk enough_, she added to herself, trying to locate the bar.

* * *

**Ezra took his time on the staircase. It was still a funny feeling even after all these years, he thought offhandedly, having everyone who was anyone in Wizarding Britain in what he referred to as 'the front room.' It was actually technically a ballroom, of course, but when one grows up in this environment, one does not make such unnecessary flourishes.**

**He went unnoticed for at least two steps before the hush began to settle in; everyone had to get in their good, long stare, he thought bitterly without looking up. He smoothed down the luxurious velvet of his green blazer instead, letting the conversations pick back up before scanning the crowd with his eyes.**

**There was Sabrina, of course, as though anyone could miss her while she was surrounded by what must have been all of the rhinestones in France. He kept scanning, becoming desperate, and then he found what – or rather, who – he was looking for.**

* * *

The distance that physically separated Daniella from a much needed Firewhisky had seemed deceivingly short. Nobody, in Hogwarts or out, bothered to acknowledge her unless absolutely necessary. But now that she was in a party hosted by the all powerful Greengrass family, everyone seemed much more willing to address her; like she had suddenly become more important. She would rather be ignored; the effort it took to smile politely and make the same small talk over and over again was quickly getting on her nerves. Finally she reached the corner where they served the drinks.

She looked around the room while she waited her turn; followed the mass gaze towards the staircase when the conversations toned down momentarily. Ezra.

She turned quickly back to the house-elf at the bar, and asked for a generous serving of Firewhisky.

Meanwhile, Logan, chuckling at what Mrs. Greengrass was saying, noticed Ezra Greengrass coming down the stairs. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, ladies."

He quickly made his way through the crowd to meet Ezra.

"Good evening," he said quietly as he slipped in front of Greengrass. "Do you have a minute?" He asked. "We have urgent business to discuss."

* * *

**Ezra made eye contact with the other boy, inclining his head in acknowledgement and motioning to the glass door near the back of the ballroom that contained a private balcony.**

**"Please."**

**Although the two boys were quite similar and, by some definitions, could even be called friends, it was a fact of nature that snakes did not travel in packs. Furthermore, Ezra had known this would happen – could smell the topic a mile off like a carcass in the summer heat – and he had already steeled his will against any more finagling on the part of the other boy.**

**He shut the door behind them.**

* * *

Logan followed Ezra into the balcony, slipping his hands into his pockets when he faced the other boy. "You've been awfully quiet since last summer," he commented casually. "I thought you'd have news for me by now."

* * *

**"You don't seem to have much faith in your sister's ability to keep out of trouble," Ezra mused with a half-smile. "I daresay I haven't been nearly as quiet as she has."**

* * *

That made Logan chuckle. He shook his head, but he wasn't particularly amused when he met Ezra's eyes again. "No, actually I don't. Daniella is a romantic fool; she is also very stubborn. But she is _my sister_," he said emphasizing those two words, "and I will make sure she doesn't make the wrong choices."

He narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful. "Are you telling me she hasn't been with that Mudblood?"

* * *

**Ezra remained expressionless, but his temper flared with such force that he could practically feel the heat. His eyes were dark in the shadows, a smoldering brown-black, and he smirked.**

**"Was it your intention all along to interrogate me on my own balcony?" He asked silkily. "No. I haven't seen the Mudblood."**

* * *

Logan pondered Greengrass's words for a while. He'd trusted the boy far more than any other potential informant, he really didn't want to stop trusting him now. And Daniella was certainly a lot quieter about her little friend, but still…

"Of course not. You've been such an accommodating host, after all. But you certainly understand my concerns, we'll do anything to protect her; including protecting her from herself." He searched Ezra's eyes, his smile growing more provocative. "I want believe you, my friend," he said softly. "I hope you're not trying to play me. And I definitely hope _she_ isn't trying to play you."

* * *

**"Yes," Ezra murmured, eyes flicking back to the warmly lit ballroom. "However, I would hazard a guess that, simply by accepting tonight's invitation, you have everything to gain, and I have nothing to lose."**

**He wrapped his hand around the ornate, antique silver handle, pulling the door towards him.**

**"If you'll excuse me."**

* * *

Daniella studied the contents of her now empty Firewhisky glass as she spinned it slowly, wondering where Ezra was right now. She shook her head. _Don't be stupid_, she scolded herself. If she turned around, she knew where she would find him. And who would be glued to his arm like always. Maybe it was better this way. She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do if she saw his handsome, infuriatingly proper face right now.

* * *

**"One firewhisky on the rocks and a shot of fresh cream," Ezra murmured, taking a seat at the bar beside Daniella, who had apparently not noticed his presence.**

**"Yes, Young Master Ezra," the house elf running the bar bowed deeply, and the drinks magically poured themselves and slid across the counter into his long, thin fingers. He took a deep, eye-watering swig.**

* * *

Daniella stopped spinning her glass when she heard his voice. She chanced a sideways look at him. "How odd to see you here, completely alone. I thought you'd be receiving every guest, making sure everyone is having a great time."

Huffing at her glass, she pushed it forward to the house-elf, leaving a wet trail on the counter, which the house-elf promptly cleaned up. "I need another one."

* * *

**"I'm not alone," Ezra said rather stubbornly, eyeing her with some disdain. "You're here. And Binky." The house elf immediately fell into a deep bow, smacking his forehead onto the counter.**

**"It is always a pleasure to know that the Young Master remembers Binky's name," he croaked, his voice heavy with emotion as he poured Daniella another drink.**

**"I don't suppose I could interest you in a tour of the house."**

* * *

Daniella looked at Binky, then back at Ezra. "Merlin's beard, do they all worship you like this?" She frowned as she accepted her firewhisky, with a small voiced thank you.

She looked around the room, as if pondering his invitation. She would much rather argue with him elsewhere than put up with any more small talk there. "I suppose that's just about as fun as this party," she said a bit tartly, taking her drink and leaving her seat.

* * *

**"It's not worship," Ezra mumbled stuffily. "We're fr-" he saw the elderly house-elf's eyes begin to water, and he thought better of his word choice before he gave the poor old boy heart failure. "Very good acquaintances." He downed the rest of his cream and offered his outstretched hand to Daniella, with every intention of it being ignored. He slid it back into his pocket.**

**He walked slowly but sharply toward the east wing of the mansion, the floor slowly changing from polished wood to ornate marble tile as they entered the deserted corridor.**

**"This is the kitchen," he drawled, wondering if she was even listening. He pushed the door open slightly to reveal a massive room containing a dozen tiny elves scurrying around with giant plates of food over their large heads. "The elves sleep across the hall, but you needn't look in there; they frequently run around naked when no one is looking."**

* * *

Was it bad that she didn't trust herself to touch him right now? It was pretty bad, she had to admit. She closed her fingers around the fabric of her dress instead as she followed him out of the ballroom.

She peeked into the kitchen politely, her eyes following the moving plates of food, some of which completely hid the elf carrying them. She took another sip, choking on the fire-like liquid at his last statement. "They what?" She gasped with teary eyes.

* * *

**"Run around naked," Ezra repeated with a relatively straight face. "When no one is looking. Many people are under the impression that house elves never take off their garments of servitude, but when left to their own devices, they are quite free-spirited creatures. They even have daily baths."**

**He closed the kitchen door and walked towards the end of the hall, which broadened into a round sitting room with three doors embedded in its magically modified walls. He reached for the handle of the first one.**

**"The library," he said simply, pushing open the heavy wooden door which did not creak, but merely gave a heavy, silent swish outward.**

* * *

Ezra had very efficiently planted that picture in Daniella's mind and now, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't delete it. She stared at another passing elf and had to press her lips together more tightly to keep the laughter in. Maybe it was time to set down her glass…

She looked around the long room with walls filled with books from top to bottom. "Not too shabby," she commented, regaining most of her composure. She had expected the house to be bigger than it looked from the outside, but this…

* * *

**Her comment coaxed a chuckle out of Ezra, who shut the door with a slight thump and continued on to the next door.**

**"Potions cupboard," he said lazily, pushing open the next door to reveal not so much a cupboard but a medium sized room, its walls stocked with Potions ingredients common and obscure; a large, heavy-bottomed copper cauldron sat in the center of the room.**

**"And this," he motioned to the last door, "is not a room, but a lift." The open door revealed a small, elegant elevator, and the corner of his lips twitched upward. "After you. Mind the rug."**

* * *

Daniella followed him into the lift, taking the chance to say on the safe, easy topic. "You do have a staircase, I saw it. So, is there a practical reason to also have a lift?"

* * *

**"We had to do something with the extra door," Ezra replied frankly as the lift carried them gently upwards. "Also, getting to the staircase requires re-entering the fray. Aren't you rather glad?" The bell in the hallway gave a small ding and the door swung itself open.**

**The uppermost floor was more sparsely decorated than the first floor, being that it was very rarely exposed to guests. That isn't to say, however, that it wasn't elegant by normal standards. The air was rather clearer and less perfumed, and many of the doors were open without care of presentability.**

**"My study," Ezra motioned to the door on his left. It had a large, heavy wooden desk and a plethora of school books. "My bathroom," he indicated the sparkling white-and-green tiled lavatory on his immediate left, which had an antique claw-foot bathtub. "And my bedroom."**

**The door to this room was not open, and he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked out of the far window as though he wasn't fussed about anything in particular.**

**"And there is the staircase you so astutely mentioned, should you wish to experience it for yourself. I don't personally recommend it; you might have to entertain an actual conversation."**

* * *

Daniella waited, offering a small smirk when he didn't add anything else. "Is it so messy you're afraid to let me see?"

Obviously, she couldn't care less about the house or its decoration right now. She was still torn between two different needs. And here they were, alone once more, with all those people downstairs at the party. It was getting difficult to contain the words that threatened to spill out.

She looked at the glass she still held. "They're probably looking for you," she said, grimly. Just like every time before, this moment would end soon. "You wouldn't want to get in trouble, would you?"

* * *

**Ezra raised an eyebrow, silently accepting the challenge and wrapping his hand around the cold doorknob. The door swung open, and he motioned an offer to step inside.**

**It was a solemn fact that not even Sabrina had been inside of his bedroom; oh, they had fooled around in several other places in the house, of course. Ezra considered his bedroom slightly sacred, if only because it was the only place he had ever been alone. His mother hadn't even entered it since he was six years old; the only other soul that was allowed in was Pokey, whom he had painstakingly taught to play Exploding Snap. It had taken him another three years to teach her to win without punishing herself.**

**"I am frequently in trouble in any case," he murmured.**

* * *

Daniella took a small step into the room, looking around with much more interest than she'd shown for the rest of the house. The furniture was dark and elegant, giving the room a feel that suited the owner. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of a tiny little bed. She raised an eyebrow, then spun around to give him a questioning look. "Am I missing something? Or a little someone, maybe?"

* * *

**Ezra looked at her, momentarily puzzled, then realized she was referring to the miniature bed in the corner of the room. He stepped over to it, gently pulling back the worn blanket to expose the front of the crib. The words 'Pokey's Bed' had been painstakingly carved into its front in childlike handwriting.**

**A shadowy figure moved in the darkest corner of the room, and Ezra held out his arm for it. A large, soot-colored owl swooped across the room and landed on his elbow.**

**"Sorry for waking you up," he murmured to the owl, which cooed comfortingly and ruffled its feathers. "I expect you'd like to go hunting for a bit." He opened the window and the bird hopped daintily onto the windowsill before taking off. He closed the window again, shivering a bit against the chill.**

**"Well, is it all that you expected it to be? Do relieve me of the suspense." He smiled wryly.**

* * *

Daniella looked at the words carved on the bed for a long time, not sure what to say. Not sure what to think. He'd found yet another way to pull the rug from under her feet.

The chilly winter breeze made her shiver, spiking her temper. She set down the glass before turning to look at him, trying to understand how the boy in the Leaky Cauldron, dimmed and subdued by his mother's presence and the one in front of her right now, sharp and confident, looking so lovingly at a simple bed could be the same person.

"I cannot, for the life of me, understand you!" She snapped. "How can you-" She shook her head, confused and angry. "You're hot and then you're cold; you follow orders like a nice, little lamb and then you sneak your way into, into…." She huffed. "What the hell do you want, Ezra?"

* * *

**"A few more mugs of firewhisky, at the moment," Ezra murmured with a devilish smirk. "But I suppose that isn't what you meant." He leaned against the wall casually, but his eyes were sharp and calculating.**

**"What would you have me do?" He asked after a few moments of tense silence. "Shall I tell my mother that I'm going to run off from home and be a blood traitor and she can go stuff herself? What purpose would that serve?" His cheeks were slightly flushed, although whether it was from alcohol or anger, he couldn't tell.**

**"You think we're in the same position, but we – we're – you haven't got nearly as much to lose," he spluttered, slightly incoherent as he had just noticed how beautiful she looked tonight. "At least no one is breathing down the back of your neck trying to force you into some barbarian arranged marriage."**

* * *

"Oh, I have nothing to lose, is that you think?" Daniella inhaled sharply. "Every single day of my life, I've seen what resigning to this stupid pureblood proper lady role who obeys in everything and never has an idea of her own has done to my mother! I've seen her become a shadow of what she could've been… I've seen what my future will be like if I do what they want me to do. It would kill me to stomach that for even one day!"

She closed her hands into fists to keep them from shaking and took an angry step towards him. "I'm losing my brother, and every day I expect to look at his arm and see that fucking mark that will tell me I've lost him forever."

She was breathing heavily now. "And I am already a blood traitor," she spat the word, like he'd used it. She stared at him, thinking she could see the fiery anger she felt reflected in his expression. "So, I don't have as much money or as fancy of a house to lose…" She took another step, trapped in his haunted eyes. He was close enough that she could breathe in his scent. It was intoxicating… She wanted more. So much more.

"Please, don't marry her," the words slipped out in a faint whisper before she could realize it.

* * *

**Several thoughts zipped through Ezra's mind; approximately five retorts, two regrets, and one desire, to be precise. He heeded only the last one, pressing his pleasantly warm but slightly wind-chapped lips against hers.**

**"I'd really rather not if I have any say in the matter," he murmured, closing his eyes and resting his head gently on top of her soft, flowing hair.**

* * *

Daniella's thoughts fled at the feel of his lips on hers. She'd been breathless after the angry outburst. But she couldn't remember why she'd been so angry anymore. All that mattered was that she wanted him.

Her fingers searched blindly for the buttons of his blazer. "We have unfinished business," she breathed, searching his mouth again for a deeper kiss.


	12. The Aftermath

**Chapter 12 - The Aftermath**

Daniella had no idea if there was a way to get out of that house without going through the ballroom, so she returned to the ballroom the same way she'd left, hoping she could leave before anyone - especially her brother - noticing. Fat chance.

Her brother appeared suddenly in front of her, startling her. She couldn't handle him right now. Her emotions were far too raw to handle him. Mumbling something about needing to use the restroom, she slipped away from his grip and disappeared in the crowd. As a house-elf passed by with flutes of champagne, she grabbed two and drank them in quick succession, hoping it would numb her for a little while.

It was over. She'd let things go way further than she'd intended. It had been far better than she'd expected. But he was going to marry another. He was going to make choices she couldn't possibly defend. It had to be over. She needed to let him go, before he left and took her heart with him.

She handed the empty flutes to the next elf that passed by.

Who was she kidding? He had her heart already.

Finally locating the exit, she opened the door, ignoring the house-elf that called out to her, and stepped out into the cold night, inhaling deeply. The street was blissfully empty, probably because it was really, really cold outside. She realized she'd forgotten her outer robes inside - that was probably why the elf had been calling-, but there was no way she was going back there. She was desperate for peace and quiet; wanted to go somewhere where she could just stop and think things through. And she wanted to get warm as well. Without thinking, she clutched the fabric of her dress and Disapparated.

It took her a long moment to realize something was wrong. It was dark and cluttered in there. There should be some light in her room, coming from the window…

"What the…?" She reached out until her hand hit a hard surface and pushed.

* * *

**"Bloody hell!" Josiah jumped to the far edge of his bed, fumbling for his wand and pointing it at his closet. The door squeaked open, and Dan stumbled out in a large, fancy dress. Her hair was a bit mussed. "I thought you were a giant chicken," he grumbled, although his heart lifted at the sight of her. He lowered his wand.**

**"So, erm..."**

* * *

"Jo?!" Daniella frowned, confused. "What are you doing in my…" She trailed off as she looked around. That wasn't right. The room wasn't right.

She recognized Jo's room. And then she – slowly, but surely – realized what had happened. Her eyes widened as she looked down anxiously at herself to make sure she wasn't missing any body parts.

She was limping; she'd lost a shoe on the way. "Damn, these were expensive," she mumbled as she took the other one off. Her dress seemed to be intact. She still had two arms, two legs, ten fingers and ten toes, her long hair, even if puffier than usual… She winced when she brushed it behind her left ear. Her fingers came out bloody.

She looked up at Jo shakily, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What is it that they say? Don't drink and Apparate…"

* * *

**"For Merlin's sake, what have you done to your ear?" Jo fussed, not unkindly, plopping her firmly onto the edge of the bed and holding his wand over her ear. He squinted a moment. "Accio dittany," he murmured, and a small vial came zooming into his hand from seemingly nowhere (it had, in fact, been on a tall shelf that was hidden with a Disillusionment Charm). He put a bit of the liquid on her ear, and the skin began to weave itself neatly back together.**

**"More importantly, what were you drinking, and why, and how come you're wearing the drapes from the Divination classroom for a dress?"**

* * *

Daniella was too dizzy with the sudden movement to properly object to the fussing, so her protest sounded weak even to her.

"That's way too many questions at the same time…" she complained, wincing more at his tone than at the dittany. "Don't be silly, this is an expensive dress," she said defensively. "And it's very pretty and… and glamorous."

She sighed tiredly. "The firewhisky was a little strong, that's all." She decided it was best not to mention the champagne she'd had after. "What was the next question?"

* * *

**"It is glamorous, yes," Jo conceded. "I'm amazed you were able to Apparate it here all in one piece. I believe the next question was 'why.'" The Ravenclaw Prefect him was out in full force, and he knitted his eyebrows at his friend. His best friend.**

**"Did anyone follow you here?" He murmured, dabbing at her ear again. It was as good as new, now, but he needed something to do with his fidgety hands. "You aren't in trouble, are you? I mean, actually, it's -" he stopped, realized that she had been able to Apparate into the house, and he turned abruptly, murmuring lowly and with great concentration. It took several moments to complete the charm to his satisfaction.**

**"I suppose it's good that you came here if you were, as I've loaded the place with more protective charms than Peeves could fart at."**

* * *

"Well, I did lose a shoe," she said grimly, studying the remaining shoe before tossing it aside.

"I don't think so. I was alone." She touched her ear; it was healed. "Thanks…" She looked at him while he worked, a frown of intense concentration on his forehead. "I was trying to go home. I'm sorry, Jo, I didn't mean to put you in danger," she said wearily.

The comment about Peeves surprised a giggle out of her, but the tightness in her chest quickly took over once more. "I slept with Ezra," she said abruptly when the giggling died out. She chanced a wary sideways glance at Jo. There, she'd said it.

* * *

**Josiah put the small vial of dittany back onto the well-camouflaged shelf, then turned around at her words and sighed with relief.**

**"I slept with Noah," he admitted, feeling that they were even now. "I mean, again. I mean, lots of times." He was quiet for a moment.**

**"I'll get you some of June's pajamas." He disappeared into the hallway for a moment, and there was the sound of rustling in the cupboard opposite his bedroom wall. He returned with a pair of purple striped pants and a matching shirt with large, sparkly buttons. He handed them to his friend.**

**"How do you feel about it? I mean… Ezra."**

* * *

Daniella rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands; she wasn't sober enough for this conversation. She accepted the pajamas, resting it on her lap and smoothing the fabric carefully, thoughtfully. She snorted after a while. "I was so angry with him. We were arguing, actually, but there's this-" she hesitated, making a face and closing her hand into a fist against her chest as she tried to find the words, "this _thing_ with him… I want to strangle him but then he does something that- then I want to hold him and tell him it's going to be alright."

She sighed deeply, closing her eyes. "They want him to marry that bitch. He's probably going to, eventually." She fell silent; she believed that, even if she hoped he wouldn't do it.

"He's not the reason I was drinking, though… mostly. This past week…" She hung her head. "I should've just stayed in Hogwarts."

* * *

**"Mm," Jo murmured encouragingly in the back of his throat. He tried to bring to mind exactly which bitch she was referring to, and then assumed that it was Sabrina for ease of conversation. His mind wandered briefly to Noah, like it had been for the past few hours, and then he refocused on his friend.**

**"Well, he's not exactly predictable, is he?" Josiah murmured, drumming his fingers on his old, rickety desk. "I mean, I don't know him personally, but he's always seemed a bit hardheaded, to be quite honest." He tried not to make too sour of a face. This was his friend's time of need, not his time to vent about how much he had been mistreated in the Prefect meetings.**

* * *

"No, he really isn't… But that doesn't change anything. He is who he is. Nothing can change what he's done and what he believes, except himself." And no matter how involved she was with him, they were still on opposite sides in that matter.

"But this is different." How could she explain it? How could she explain the trap your family could set around you so neatly, that you couldn't find the strength in yourself to break free from it? The constant wearing down of someone's defenses? "They get under your skin, and no matter how much you hate submitting to it, it gets to a point where you start thinking maybe it's easier to just accept it and be done with it, because resisting is so tiring. Especially if you don't know anything else that's worth fighting for."

Daniella stopped, her hands closing around the fabric of the pajamas. Her thoughts had wandered off to her mother, to Logan and his schemes and she felt suddenly very vulnerable. "Jo, I can't do this anymore. I miss you. Your friendship is the only thing I have that's real, and worth fighting for. And being apart makes it harder to remember why it's so important to fight them…" The pressure she'd been feeling since returning home was clogging her throat again. "I don't want them to break me," she said in a faint whisper, hating how weak she sounded.

* * *

**Jo slid beside her on the bed, wrapping one arm around her and giving her a gentle squeeze. He stared at his dim, blank wall, which had a rather large stress crack in it. He didn't know what to think.**

**He loved Dan; she was his best friend, and as much of a sister to him as his real sisters. They were very different. He was poor, there was no denying that. He wasn't even very strong. His family was even less so without his help. He thought of Ezra, who was even more different… so different he couldn't even begin to understand. He knew that this was a war and that it wasn't easy for anyone.**

**"He's just one person," he mumbled to both of them and to no one in particular. "For now, I mean. Logan has a few accomplices, but he's really just one person. Until he… I mean, if he decides to…" he trailed off; he didn't even want to think about that option, and he didn't want Dan to think about it right now, either. "He's just one person, and we will take our chances."**

* * *

Daniella leaned into Jo, only just then realizing how much she'd desperately missed his easy going, comforting affection. She hadn't known just how lost she'd felt until now. A renewed flame of defiance grew in her chest. She would do anything to keep Jo and his family safe, but she'd be damned if she would let Logan take her friend from her. "I'll do whatever it takes. And if Logan doesn't believe it yet, he will soon enough."

She huffed out a sigh, pulling herself together. She smiled shakily at Jo, not quite looking him in the eyes. "Sorry, I'm not sure where that came from. Give me a minute. I need to wash up and… well, get out of this dress." She left towards the bathroom as quietly as she could, as to not wake anyone up.

A little while later, feeling more like her usual self, she returned to Jo's room, the dress messily wrapped up on her arms, looking a bit silly in bright purple pajamas that were too long on the arms and legs for her, since June was taller.

She settled back next to Jo, backtracking in the conversation until before she'd started making it depressing. "Enough talking about me. I don't want to go to sleep in a bad mood; it'll be enough punishment to wake up hungover tomorrow…" She gave her friend a questioning look. "What did you mean about Ledger? Did he finally make up his mind?"

* * *

**Jo smiled twitchily at the sight of Dan, tipsy, in June's too-big pajamas. He crossed his legs on the bed, picking absentmindedly at his thick socks.**

**"Well, I don't know about all that," he murmured, referring to Noah's mind. "I never know what's on the one in his skull; the one in his pants is much easier to read." He sighed deeply.**

**"It's just… complicated. I mean, he wants to be a professional Quidditch player and all that, so he's afraid of anyone else finding out. I'm like a big secret. He comes to me for sex and he says really sweet things, and then when we're around other people, it's like… I mean, it's like I don't even exist."**

**He pursed his lips. ****"I can't live my entire life in private."**

* * *

Daniella snorted, but let him finish. "No, you can't. And you shouldn't," she agreed. She pondered for a minute. In her opinion, for a Gryffindor, Ledger was acting too much like a coward, but she knew better than to say that so bluntly.

"So, he hasn't told anyone? Not his parents, his friends? And he doesn't let you say anything either?" She huffed again. "Did you tell him how you feel?"

* * *

**"Well, it's not that he forbids me from saying anything…" Jo murmured lowly. "It's just that… well, I feel like if I told anyone, he would be upset, obviously. He would think I was selfish." He fiddled with the edge of his shirt grumpily.**

**"I told him I loved him," he said quietly. "But he didn't say it back."**

* * *

Daniella narrowed her eyes, studying his face. "Who's being selfish, then?" She asked Jo, just as quietly, taking his hand in hers. "A secret love affair may seem very interesting, but someone always gets hurt, in the end."

She pondered his words, surprised at his admission. "Well, what did he say?"

* * *

**Josiah offered Dan a watery smile. He was perfectly fine, after all. It wasn't like he hadn't ever had relationships before. It was just all so different in the moment.**

**"He says that he wants me," he mumbled. "He says it every time we meet. I'm special. He wants to be with me. But he's never talked about… other boys. Or girls, for that matter," he said, knitting his eyebrows.**

**"I don't know much about his previous relationships. We just kind of… meet and have sex and talk about Quidditch." He sighed.**

**"Anyway, it's fine. I'll figure it out." He smirked a bit. "The bed is bigger, if you hadn't noticed. I can expand it a bit if you're nervous about my sleep-germs. You can go home after you sober up a bit."**

* * *

Daniella bit her lower lip. He hadn't asked for her advice, after all. Not that she could give any good ones at the moment, tangled up as she was with her own heartache. Or any other moment, where men's minds were concerned. "Alright," she said quietly. "You know I'm here whenever you need to talk, right? And I'll definitely be sober the next time," she added apologetically.

"I'm sterilized enough for the night, after all the firewhisky," she teased as she stood up slowly. She planted a kiss on the top of Jo's head, moved around to the other side of the bed, then stopped and looked at Jo seriously. "If he really is a Gryffindor, he'll do the right thing. Quidditch is a very stupid excuse to let someone like you escape."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra lay on top of his unmade sheets, half-dressed. His eyes were glazed over as he stared fruitlessly into the wood grain of his tall, ornate headboard.**

**The party had been over for some time. Granted, he hadn't been present for much of it; he was in for a spectacular ear-lashing the next time he saw his parents. He couldn't bring himself to worry about that now. After all, he realized, it was only a matter of time before he was going to be disowned if he kept doing whatever he pleased, and then it wouldn't matter.**

**Then he would be nothing, and no one would care. The thought was terrifying and liberating at the same time.**

**"Pokey," he murmured hoarsely into the cool, dry air, and there was an immediate crack as the house elf appeared at his bedside. She swayed a bit, and he could tell she was concerned for his well-being. He looked sideways at her, slightly ashamed of himself, and then looked back at the headboard.**

**"Will you pack my things for me, Pokey?"**

**"Young Master Ezra, sir?"**

**"I mean, my school things, clothes, potion ingredients, and so forth."**

**Pokey bowed, was silent for a few moments, and then snapped her fingers. Several articles of clothing swished to life and began folding themselves meticulously.**

**"Young Master Ezra is packing very early, sir, considering he still has a couple of weeks left in his winter vacation, sir." He gave the elf a brittle smile.**

**"I'm leaving the house, Pokey. I need to go back to Hogwarts for the time being – and you mustn't tell my parents. It's awfully important. It could be the difference between life and death for me, Pokey, do you understand?"**

**There was more silence, and then the sound of loud, uncontrollable sniffles that usually preceded one of Pokey's crying spells. He patted her gently on the head before turning to his wardrobe. He squinted at himself in the large, open mirror; he bid himself farewell.**

* * *

Daniella had waited until she was sure the house was empty before slipping inside. Thankfully, her parents always left early in the morning. She really didn't feel like answering uncomfortable questions about the previous night with that headache. With a bit of luck, no one had noticed she hadn't slept in her own bed.

An hour later, after a long hot shower, she sat at her desk. The potion she'd prepared for the hangover was still too hot to drink; she turned the present in her hands, not sure what to do with it. She'd bought it before the party, but had decided to wait to give it to Ezra. Now, after what had happened, she wasn't sure what he would think of it.

In fact, she wasn't sure of what he thought of anything that had happened in the last few days. She didn't want to create expectations, and she definitely didn't want him to think she had any. But if she was honest with herself, she knew she had already crossed the thin line that separated physical attraction from something a lot deeper – and more troublesome.

She'd hoped she could finally get him out of her mind after last night. But she couldn't. She wanted him to choose her and what she could offer; wanted to believe things could work between them. "Don't fall for him," she told herself once more.

She closed her eyes, sighing deeply. "Shit."

She gulped down the potion and snuck out of the bedroom to find the family's owl. Everything was still quiet. She wondered briefly where Logan was - she'd been convinced she would find him fast asleep, but didn't seem to be there at all. Maybe he'd spent the night out as well. Even better.

* * *

**Ezra fastened every bolt on the heavy door, settling into a small wooden chair in front of a plain desk in the far corner of the room. He peered out the window as he wrote; it was late, but Diagon Alley was still magically lit and misty, with the occasional drunk, lonely wizard tumbling out into the cobblestone street. He unlatched the door on Pauline's cage and coaxed her out with his pale, thin fingers. She cooed softly, her talons clicking on the wooden surface as she hopped out of the brass wires.**

**He rummaged through his school trunk, which had been magically extended to carry some of his more important belongings (he didn't dare hope for a moment that, as soon as they realized he was gone, his parents wouldn't ransack his private property). He pulled out a single scrap of parchment, barely large enough for a paragraph. On it, he scribbled simply:**

**_Leaky Cauldron, 21-B_**

**He folded up the scrap twice and conjured a magical twine rope to secure it to Pauline's leg.**

**"Take this to Daniella, Paulie," he murmured, stroking her darkly feathered head. He opened a single pane of the window, and the stately owl squeezed through the tiny space and out into the night.**

* * *

Later that afternoon, Daniella sat at the kitchen table, staring at the package. The owl had returned with it. What did that mean? Maybe he just wasn't home… but where could he be at that time, just before Christmas? What if he had rejected the gift?

The back door opened. "Ah, look who's finally home. Where were you all night, Dany?"

Daniella looked over to her brother, wand in hand, startled. She frowned as she looked at her brother. He was slurring a little and he was still wearing his robes from the party. And that look on his face…

A shiver ran down her spine, but she didn't let her uneasiness show. "Don't call me-"

"Dany, Dany, Dany." He walked over to her, shaking his head; his voice gained a warning, almost threatening tone. Daniella barely recognized him. "I've told you before. Some places aren't safe to go by yourself. You keep making your big brother have to rescue you."

Daniella froze, fear creeping up to settle in her stomach. He knew where she'd been. She looked over him again and a shiver ran down her spine. His clothes looked dirty and that look in his eyes… "What have you done to them?" She barely dared to breathe.

He smirked, tilting his head a little. "To your Mudblood friend? Nothing… yet. I don't think the poor bastards will be able to go out and fish in that old can anytime soon, though." He looked at her more seriously. "You see, Dany, we had a deal, and he didn't keep his part of the bargain. He needed to know _his place_."

The fear suddenly turned to red hor anger; it bubbled up inside Daniella, obliterating the caution.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Logan?!" She snapped, standing up to face him. "Enough! You've underestimated me all my life. But no more; I make my own decisions now," she said with a quiet intensity she had never even heard in herself. She met his eyes, hers fiery with the intensity of her feelings. "And I am warning you: if you hurt Jo in any way, you will never see me again. If he or anyone in his family is hurt because of you or your _gang_, you will regret it." She breathed heavily, staring at him and seeing only a stranger. She couldn't find her brother in his eyes anymore. And right now, she hated him with a passion. "If you do anything to any of them, you'll regret it dearly."

Logan seemed stunned, and his smirk lost its confidence for a moment. He was finally starting to see she wasn't the child he'd known anymore; he furrowed his brow. "What are you saying? Dany, look at you! They mess with your mind, do-"

"Do not. Call me. Dany." Daniella said through clenched teeth. Her hands were closed into fists, and her wand hissed loudly as bright white sparks shot out. "You have lost that right a long time ago." She took one step closer to him. "_They_ have never hurt me like you just did."

She looked at her brother, wondering if it would be the last time; wondering if she would have to hurt him. "Mark my words, Logan. Decide what matters the most to you…" She turned and stormed out of the kitchen, up the stairs to her room.

She slammed the door closed and wiped the tears shakily, the fear for Jo and his family growing with each passing second. She took the notebook from under her pillow and quickly wrote a note begging Jo to tell her if he was alright. She didn't dare Apparate there, in case Logan had left someone on the look out.

Absorbed by her worry, it took her a long time to realize there was an owl patiently waiting for her to notice it. She rushed towards the bird when she recognized it. Ezra's owl.

* * *

**Ezra returned to his small room with several shopping bags full of supplies: potion ingredients, many of which were banned for Hogwarts use, which he had snitched in large quantities from his father's store; approximately 500 galleons, which was enough to hold him over until the spring if he was wise; several new vials of ink and a crisp, freshly bought quill; a stack of blank parchment; and a bag of owl treats.**

**He placed the bags as gently as possible on the creaky wooden floor (Merlin forbid if he was too careless with the Erumpet horns; they were wickedly expensive to buy, and he didn't want to have to steal any more) and tried to catch his breath from the cold. He sat on the soft but lumpy bed and slid off his shoes. Pauline had been back for a while now, and she was looking at him with her head tilted. He attempted a reassuring smile.**

**His shaky confidence was broken by a knock on the door, and he pulled out his wand swiftly and with incredible accuracy. Rumors spread fast in the pureblood community… people could be paid off… things could go very wrong if one was not cautious.**

**He stepped up to the door as quietly as he could, releasing one bolt and opening the door a fraction of an inch. He peered through the crack. It was Daniella – or, at any rate, it appeared to be.**

**"What object did you notice in the corner of my bedroom when I allowed you inside of it?" He tested, not putting his wand down.**

* * *

Daniella's feelings were still too raw, too on the surface when she arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't know why she'd blindly come over here; any other day, she would've been very suspicious of such a cryptic message. But right now, she didn't care; she had nothing more to lose.

She had needed to get out of that house, and she didn't really have anywhere else to go. All she knew was, she was never going back. She couldn't stand by idly anymore. Jo hadn't replied to her yet. Trying not to think of the reasons for that - each possibility seemed darker than the previous one - she'd packed up her things, snuck out of the house and Apparated into Diagon Alley. She'd asked Tom to keep her luggage for a few minutes before going up to the room.

Now, with her mind still frazzled, she stared at Ezra blankly for a moment, puzzled with the question and his behaviour. "Pokey's bed," she said slowly. Then, it finally made sense. Her lips curved upwards in a small smirk. "What item did you lend me after the first Potions class?"

* * *

**"A book of Muggle poetry," Ezra murmured, unlatching the rest of the bolts on the door and allowing her inside. "Sorry, it's just that… they know I trust you. If they had gotten their hands on anything of yours, so much as a hair… well, you're very much aware of the possibilities." He tucked his wand in the pocket of his coat. He stepped gingerly over the bags, pushing them back against the wall so that there was more space to move about. He had never been without someone to clean up after him before.**

**"Bit of a mess," he said lowly, rubbing a fatigue-shadowed eye. "My apologies."**

* * *

Daniella took a couple of steps into the room and closed the door behind her, looking around with interest. "Understandable. I do have a lot of hair," she said absentmindedly.

It didn't look like he was just passing by. She looked at all the things around him, baffled. And what he'd said…? "Ezra, what is this? What are you doing here?"

* * *

**"I've run away from home," Ezra replied in his cultured, level voice. "I came here to gather supplies. I'll go back to Hogwarts for as long as I can, and then…." He trailed off, furrowing his porcelain brow for only a moment.**

**"You don't have to get involved," he said more gently, sitting by one of the bags and removing the smaller bags full of exotic ingredients. He stuffed them one by one into his trunk. "I'll be alright."**

* * *

Daniella's jaw dropped. She gawked at him as he moved around the room busily. "You did what?!"

She walked over to him, took the items he was holding from him and took hands in hers, making him look at her. "Why did you do that? What happened?" She asked worriedly.

* * *

**"Choosing my own path, standing up to the people who use me, making my own decisions, et cetera," Ezra replied flatly with a smirk and false amusement. He ran his hands over hers, gave them a gentle squeeze, and took the ingredients back.**

**"And being prepared," he said with a suddenly dark expression. "For anything."**

* * *

Daniella glanced around at the chaos surrounding them. "Well, that you are!"

She didn't know what to say. She'd been hoping to hear him say exactly those things, had hoped she'd convince him to stand up for himself, but she hadn't really expected him to do so. Not so suddenly, anyway.

Her heart was racing, but she didn't dare hope too much yet. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really not want me to get involved? Why did you tell me you were here, then?"

* * *

**Ezra faltered at these words, but said nothing for several moments, shoving more ingredients into the far corners of his trunk. His ears were pink.**

**"Well, you can if you like," he murmured, trying to put forward a cool exterior. "I daresay it will be dangerous, but you're free to make your own decisions… as per usual." He paused, feeling a bit guilty. She had come all the way to Diagon Alley to see him and he was still putting up fronts.**

**"I don't want to be alone," he said, so lowly that it was nearly a whisper. "And because we're… because I trust you."**

* * *

It took a lot of effort to stay still long enough for him to finally get the words out; the honest ones, that was.

"I don't think I have many options," she replied quietly. "Technically, I ran away as well. I am definitely not going to be under the same roof as Logan any time soon, that's for sure." She pressed two fingers against the bridge of her nose, trying to focus on the problem at hand.

"It will definitely be dangerous. I'm not sure you realize how difficult it will be yet," she said seriously. She raised a hand to his hair, all messy due to his nearly frantic movements, and brushed it back. "I daresay you'll need someone to have your back."

* * *

**Ezra searched her eyes, the overhead light flickering every time the winter wind blew too hard outside. Pauline made a delicate noise in her open cage that might have been a snore. He smirked.**

**"I'll cover yours if you'll cover mine," he murmured, pressing his lips against hers briefly. "By the way, did you bring any money? I've never cooked before in my life."**

* * *

"I could cook, it would be cheaper, but there's no stove. I've been craving fish and chips lately, though," Daniella offered Ezra a teasing smirk.

She would go to Gringotts in the morning; she had created an account for herself last year that her family didn't know about, and put all of her savings in there. "So, I'll go downstairs and buy us dinner. Can you bring my things up in the meantime? Tom is keeping them for me, but I don't want to abuse his kindness for too long."

* * *

**"You can cook?" Ezra asked a little too abruptly to be polite. He slipped his wand out of his coat pocket. "Accio Daniella's Trunk," he said clearly, waiting. A few moments passed in silence. There was a gentle thump at the door. He unbolted the locks and the trunk slid into the room like an obedient puppy, leaving a small trail of dust where it had traveled through the corridor.**

**"I've got a few hundred galleons, but it won't last us long between two people. Here," he murmured, digging around in his pocket and placing two golden coins into her hand. They were slightly warm from his body heat.**

* * *

"I'm actually a pretty decent cook," Daniella replied. "I just don't get many chances to do it at school."

"Thanks," she said, kneeling in front of her trunk and opening it to find the small bag with her own money. She returned one of the coins. "I have some money too. I've been saving up for a while now." She glanced mischievously at him out of the corner of her eye. "You know, just in case. Tomorrow I'll see about getting us cheaper food, but if you really want to do this, we should think about returning to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Everyone knows who you are here."

A few minutes later, she was standing by the counter, waiting for Tom, thinking about the madness they were getting into. And she'd agreed to that without thinking twice. She remembered Jo's words about Noah thinking with the mind in his pants instead of the one in his skull. Was that what Ezra was doing?

It was all perfect for now, until they had to face everyone they knew; until they had to start making some really difficult choices. She ordered food for them and made her way back upstairs, determined to make the most of it for as long as it lasted, and not think about when it would be over.


	13. Stonehaven

**Chapter 13 - Stonehaven**

**Ezra**** took the fish and chips from Daniella's hands gladly; he hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had smelled it from the doorway. He bolted the door again, which was becoming a fast habit. He used the writing desk for a dinner table.**

**"My parents won't make a fuss at the school," he informed her, mouth only half full. "They're way too concerned about image for that. They probably won't even tell people publicly that I'm gone until they absolutely have to." He swallowed.**

**"I started brewing some Polyjuice Potion a few days ago," he added. "But it's going to take a few weeks to mature. You know… 'just in case.'"**

* * *

Daniella sat across from him at the table, studying him. She still couldn't believe he had really done this. "You are quite the puzzle, Ezra Greengrass," she said, taking two butterbeers out of the paper bag and handing him one. She opened hers and raised it in a toast. "To freedom."

But, no matter how determined he looked right now, in a lot of ways he was still a spoiled rich kid. He was going to get a reality shock soon enough; and so would she, even if she felt a little more prepared for self-subsistence.

"That was a good idea." She paused for a while, trying the fish. "So, how's this going to work? Have you given it some thought?"

* * *

**Ezra gave an amused snort into his food, licking some oil off of his ring finger before wrapping his hand around the butterbeer. He nudged her bottle with his own.**

**"To freedom, although I have yet to understand exactly what that might mean." He gave the warm drink a sip, exhaling softly as he pondered her words.**

**"Not really," he murmured, having the decency to look at least partially sheepish. "I only left last night; I kind of feel like I'm having a vacation at the moment." He chanced a smirk before looking up at her more seriously.**

**"For starters, there's only one bed," he stated the obvious grimly. "If you're… uncomfortable… with the arrangements, I can request a different room. I wasn't exactly planning for two when I chose this one." He drummed his fingers restlessly on the table, now staring at his half-eaten food distantly while he thought.**

* * *

"You'll figure it out eventually," Daniella assured him. "It takes some time to get used to listening to your own thoughts."

She slowly set down her fork. They were getting to the touchy subject, at last. "We do need to be cautious about spending money…" She said casually.

She had no idea where they stood at the moment; things could become very murky and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. "Can you stay on your side, or do you kick and roll around?" She asked as lightly attempting a smirk.

She lowered her eyes to her bottle, running a finger around the edge absentmindedly. Might as well get it over with.

"Look Ezra, about what happened…" she started quietly, searching his eyes. "I don't expect anything from you. I don't want you to feel obligated to be with me, or to ask me to stay just because of what happened between us." Her mouth was dry, but she pushed on. "Unless that's what you want to do."

* * *

**"I haven't the foggiest," Ezra murmured in reply. "I've never slept in the same bed with anyone in my entire life for more than an hour." He rested his chin on his palm, cutting his eyes sideways to the bed. It looked cozy, but it was turning out to be quite a lot of trouble for a relatively innocent piece of furniture.**

**"I don't regret anything, if that's what you mean," he defended his integrity and steeled himself for the inevitable. "I fancy you."**

* * *

Daniella cleared her throat, but her heart still gave an odd little jump. "Good," she murmured, and her voice sounded firmer than she felt at the moment. "I don't regret anything either. I just thought we should make that clear… because I fancy you too."

She finished her butterbeer, giving herself time to gather her thoughts. "So, with that settled, we probably should set some rules, even if we're not staying here for long, don't you think?" Her smile became a little wicked.

* * *

**Ezra said nothing, forking the last bit of fish into his idle mouth. At the very least, he was glad they could come to an understanding. He just wasn't sure where people normally went from here.**

**"I'm glad," he said finally, feeling that this was a bit of a lame response, true as it may be.**

**"What kind of rules?" He countered suspiciously, hesitant to let anyone begin saddling him with restraints so soon after he had flown the coop. "Like the ones in the dormitory?" The Slytherin boys had established several common guidelines during their first year in each other's company that still held fast in the months approaching their graduation.**

* * *

"Hmm, well, you know, basic cohabitation rules of sorts, so we don't drive each other mad too soon," she said, the same smile still dancing on her lips.

"Oh, you have rules?" She asked curiously; then she made a face. "We should have thought of that too, it would have made my life so much easier," she commented offhandedly. "Anyway," she put the fork down and leaned forward, brow furrowed in thought. "Let's see, my rules: we share all the expenses, fifty-fifty," she started. "Try not to wake me up before nine, unless it's a matter of life or death; I'm on vacation." She looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought, then met his eyes. "And last, but not least, don't complain about how long it takes me to brush my hair."

* * *

**Ezra blinked twice in quick succession.**

**"Alright," he agreed solemnly, his eyes slightly glazed with the effort of remembering all the information. He picked a piece of fuzz off of his jacket.**

**"Well, in that case…" he trailed off, inspecting his fingernails with a cocked eyebrow while he thought. "Don't use any of my potion-making tools without asking. Don't go out for an extended length of time without leaving a note as to when you'll return. I don't want to waste time worrying about whether you've been abducted." He drummed his fingers against his chin absentmindedly.**

**"And do try to keep all noise to a minimum if I'm brewing or studying. It is imperative that I have absolute quiet."**

* * *

Daniella nodded as Ezra listed his own rules. "Alright, I'll do my best," she said with a reserved smile, offering her hand for a handshake.

"Now... Will you tell me what the rules are in your dorms?" She asked in a low voice, curiously.

* * *

**Ezra took her hand gently, giving it a docile shake and offering her a wry smirk.**

**"It's a deal, then," he concluded, leaning back in the small, rickety wooden chair in a rather precarious manner.**

**"I don't think they're as interesting as you might imagine; most of them deal with food," he informed her amusedly. "We made them in first year, after all." He thought back to these memories, and he was suddenly filled with an emotion that might have been nostalgia, except it was painful. He had been confident in the fact that he didn't have any true, trustworthy friends, but in light of recent events, he would be lucky if he could even claim fake ones.**

**He realized that he was being quiet for too long and rubbed his eye wearily as he peered at the clock.**

**"I say, it's gotten late," he murmured primly. "I'll extend you the luxury of using the lavatory first before we retire."**

* * *

Daniella didn't know how to break the silence. He seemed upset, all of a sudden. She gave a short nod, stood up and gathered the dishes and glasses to put them outside the door to be taken down.

In the tiny bathroom adjacent to their room, she studied her reflection in the mirror. She had no idea what would happen from now on, and that thought was terrifying. What exactly was she getting herself into? She'd wanted this; she'd wanted to set free, made plans and preparations… but she'd never actually done it. Until now.

Suddenly, it was all very real to her. She was on her own. The only familiar thing in her near future was the time she had left in Hogwarts. After that…

She huffed out a sigh and brushed her teeth. No point in worrying about the problems that hadn't come yet. Her main concern at the moment was hearing back from Jo.

When she returned to the room, Daniella was eager to check the notebook. Now that she was here with Ezra, she couldn't just leave to Stonehaven with him. Could she?

* * *

**Ezra**** shed his coat and draped it over the back of the chair. It was a bit exhausting, he mused to himself, to live with someone unfamiliar, much less someone you properly fancied. He was lost in this particular thought when another entered his mind, completely uninvited.**

**"Merlin's starry hat," he mumbled, flipping open the lid to his trunk and peering inside, although he was already certain that what he sought was not in it. "I've left my toothbrush."**

* * *

Daniella was searching her bag for the little notebook when his exclamation stopped her.

She turned to look at him. "Sorry, but I'm not sharing mine." She pondered that for a moment, then gave him a slightly teasing smirk. "I thought you had house elves to pack your things for you…"

* * *

**Ezra gave the small grimace that usually accompanies a particularly unpleasant detail that one remembers one has overlooked.**

**"Pokey packed my things, but by the time she started packing toiletries, she was… well, she was rather distraught." In truth, the elf had been sobbing so hard that most of the relevant items had ended up in the bathtub or, more luckily, strewn over the carpet.**

**"Nevermind it. I'll use my finger." He pursed his lips at this announcement, then turned and slipped into the small bathroom.**

* * *

Daniella blinked, then huffed out a chuckle. "Good luck with that," she said as the door closed.

Biting her lower lip, she quickly took the black notebook and a quill and sat at the desk. She stifled the anxiety fairly well while she was busy, but she was worried sick.

_«Jo, how are you? How's your family? I know Logan was there. He didn't even try to hide it from me._

_Please, answer soon, I'm worried.»_

* * *

**Jo stared emptily at the remainder of the boat, standing silently beside his father, who was equally solemn.**

**"I can fix it," he assured his father, trying to be comforting. "Most of it, I mean. I'll do the best I can." His father nodded, patting him on the shoulder.**

**"You're a good lad," he murmured softly. "You don't have to take on more than you can handle. You've got school again soon."**

**"I'm not leaving you guys like this," he said immediately, in a firmer tone than he had intended. "Look, just… go inside, okay. Tell Mum and Pearl and Juney to stay inside, no matter what. Especially after I'm gone back to school," he warned.**

**"I don't care what you hear, or see, or anything, if you see something suspicious outside, or… don't go, okay? I'm serious, and these people are serious. They'll… I mean, just don't go outside." He felt his wand through his coat pocket, setting his jaw.**

**"You can go back and help Mum with lunch. I'll stay out here for a bit."**

**He climbed onto the boat, landing in the middle of a pile of broken glass and debris. The glass would probably be easiest; at least he knew all the pieces were here. He peered over the edge, checking for Muggles, then bent down and whispered, "Reparo."**

**It took a long time; in fact, he had never repaired anything that had taken so long before. He shook the tip of his wand absentmindedly, huffing out a breath of warm vapor. It was freezing.**

**Damn Logan.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella slipped out of the small bed as soon as the sun appeared in the sky, very much unlike her usual self. She hadn't gotten much sleep, at all. Jo hadn't replied last night, and worry was still eating at her. She'd been fighting the urge to go to Stonehaven and find out exactly what Logan had done, but she didn't want to cause any more trouble for Jo right now. At least until she heard from him.

She held on to Logan's guarantee that he hadn't hurt him or his family and decided to stay put until she heard from Jo. She'd left another message on the notebook, asking him to call her if he needed help and to tell her if he and his family were alright.

She checked the notebook for the hundredth time. Still nothing. The sense of dread grew bigger, but she made her best to push it away. He'd probably been taking care of whatever had happened and now had to rest. That was all.

Ezra was still fast asleep when Daniella put the notebook away again and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. As long as she was busy, she wouldn't go crazy.

When she returned to the bedroom, fully dressed, she looked around for a piece of parchment and wrote:

_'__I went to Gringotts and to buy us some food. I'll be back before nine.'_

Ripping the written piece out, she placed it on the tiny bedside table next to him, tucked the covers around him and walked out of the room.

The morning was colder than it had been in last few days and the sky promised rain. Daniella pulled the scarf more tightly around her neck as she made her way through the still quiet street to Gringotts. Everyone was still home celebrating Christmas with their families, she thought grimly.

Half hour later she walked out of the marble building carrying most of her money, as well as some Muggle money that she'd exchanged… just in case. Jo had tried to teach her how to use it before and now she wished she'd paid more attention.

By the time she walked back down the main street to the Leaky Cauldron, carrying a couple of heavy shopping bags, she was flushed, feeling too warm under the scarf and the heavy winter coat.

A nice old wizard opened the door for her. She entered and put down the bags to get rid of the scarf, for a moment too long too distracted to realize who was coming into the building from the other entrance.

* * *

**Sabrina lay in her large, luxurious bed, staring up at her ornate ceiling and hating her life. Truly, she was heartbroken; she was sure that Ezra was the only boy she'd ever loved, the only boy she would ever love. She didn't know how to express it, but it didn't change the fact of the matter.**

**She didn't understand. He'd had everything: money, reputation, power, her. She couldn't fathom the idea that he might possibly want something more than that.**

**But he had, and now he was gone.**

**It was that blood traitor bitch's fault, she thought bitterly to herself. He had been fine before, normal before, befitting of his status before. After they had gotten closer, he had changed completely. He had ignored her blatantly, chosen that girl over Sabrina, and as much as she loved him – if she did, in fact, still love him – he was going to pay. She was going to pay, too. If they were so inclined, they could rot as blood traitors together.**

**She rose from her position on the bed, getting dressed in a hurry and charming her eyes to appear less puffy. A pureblood witch could not be seen in public looking harassed. She was Head Girl, the best duelist in her year (with only one challenger), and she was going to find this and end it at its source.**

**She Disapparated with a sharp crack, hitting the ground at a brisk walk.**

* * *

Daniella's eyes widened at the sight of Sabrina. She looked around quickly, studying her possibilities. Both the street and the pub were fairly busy by now, maybe Sabrina hadn't noticed her yet. If Daniella was quick, maybe she could get to the room before the other girl noticed her.

Fumbling for her wand, she hovered the shopping bags in front of her to move quickly and keep her hands free. There was no telling what was going through Sabrina's mind, but she was a ridiculously fast dueler in any mood. Daniella disappeared inside the pub, moving as quickly as she could without running, until she reached the staircase. When she disappeared from public view, she ran to the room she shared with Ezra.

She knocked urgently on the door, looking over her shoulder towards the stairs. Her heart clogged her throat.

* * *

**Ezra sat bolt upright at the knock on the door, and his wand was in his hand before he was conscious of anything. He jumped up, examining the note, and furrowed his brows.**

**"Daniella?" He whispered at the crack in the doorframe. His hand was on the door bolt.**

* * *

Daniella raised her index finger to her lips as she glanced to the stairs again. "Yes. Open up, quick. Sabrina's here." She pushed against the door. "Get dressed, we need to get out of here _now!_"

* * *

**Ezra unlocked the door and stumbled back a few steps as it opened on top of him. He rubbed one eye sleepily with his wand hand, sending a single white spark flying through the air, where it snuffed out on the carpet.**

**It took a moment for his groggy brain to process her words, and his entire body was suddenly filled with a horrible sense of dread. He scrambled for his trunk.**

**"Accio Trousers! Accio Shirt! Accio Socks!" He muttered in an incredible hurry, collecting the garments with one jittery hand. "Pack!"**

**Things began swarming into his trunk at high speed with no regard for organization.**

**"Where was she? Did she see you?" He realized he was whispering for no apparent reason.**

* * *

Daniella hurried the shopping bags into the room; one of them fell, spreading its contents on the floor. She closed the door behind her, then huffed out a slow, loud breath, trying to calm down and think rationally. "I think she saw me downstairs, but she didn't see in which room I entered. She came out of nowhere, Apparated just outside the pub."

She rubbed her forehead; good thing they hadn't unpacked most of their things. Whatever they did, Sabrina couldn't find out Ezra was staying in the Leaky Cauldron, much less in which room.

"We need to get out of here." She leaned against the door, trying to hear anything coming from the hallway. "You know her best; will she stay downstairs or come up?"

* * *

**"She'll wait for us to come down," Ezra said, cursing her fervently. Sabrina was a lot of things, clingy and desperate and soulless among them, but the one thing she was not was stupid.**

**"Pack up," he said firmly, flourishing his wand. "I paid Tom in advance; we can Apparate out."**

**He had only passed his test a few months ago, but he had gotten a lot of practice, and spells involving the body and transformation thereof were one of his specialties.**

**It helped that he had no choice.**

* * *

Daniella cursed in a low voice as she pointed her wand at her own trunk. What a terrible start of a day. She supposed she should be glad to have had the chance to get her money first, but still… Damn that girl!

A couple minutes later, she was using her own hands to try and shuffle things around so the trunk would close, thinking offhandedly to add to her 'to do list' practicing organization in her spell work.

"Alright, I'm done," She huffed as she finally managed to close it. She looked at the trunk, unsure. "Ezra, I never tried to Apparate anything other than just myself…" She threw her bag over her shoulder; her most important possessions were there for now. As long as she didn't lose those, she could deal with losing the rest. "I guess there's a first time for everything." She attempted an assuring smirk.

* * *

**"That's fine," Ezra murmured distractedly, grabbing the handle of his trunk and gripping it tightly. "Grab onto your things and give me your hand." He gripped her hand tightly, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pulled them through miles of space.**

**They landed with a rough thud, and Ezra released her hand and took a few steps backward into a worn metal trash can. Its lid landed with a metallic crash, and he vanished it without thinking just to stop the noise.**

**He exhaled slowly.**

**They were in a dark alley, but people could be heard toward the direction of the street. It was still a bit early, and not many people were out during this time of year; it was bitterly cold, for one thing.**

**He grabbed her hand silently again, pulling his trunk manually behind him with some effort. He rounded the corner onto the proper sidewalk, and looked up at a bookstore. It was called Bridgefield's.**

**"This is the only Muggle place I've ever been," he whispered to her out of the corner of his mouth. "It's where I got that book. I'm pretty sure I remember a hotel on this street, but I don't have any Muggle money."**

* * *

Daniella looked at her trunk to make sure all her things were still there, then squeezed his hand reassuringly.

The only Muggle places she knew were around the Stonehaven area, so she couldn't be of much help. But then again, how different could a Muggle street in London be from a Muggle street in Scotland, right?

She released his hand to search her bag. "I got some Muggle money this morning. I think I still remember how to use it… Jo taugh-" She stopped abruptly, her heart caught in her throat. Her anxiety spiked once more. The notebook was warm. "Uh," she looked around frantically. There was a wooden bench close by. "Sorry, hold on a minute, Ezra."

She rushed over to the bench – standing randomly in the middle of the street with a huge trunk was weird in any world – and sat down, taking out the notebook with shaky hands.

"Oh, thank Merlin…" she whispered when she finished reading, dizzy with relief. The boat may be their main source of income, but at least the family was sae. She found a quill in her bag and wrote:

_«I'm so relieved you're alright! Do you want me to go over there, is there anything I can do to help?_

_I ran away, Jo. I couldn't stay there, it would be like agreeing to what he's doing. I won't let him use you to get to me anymore, ever again. I'm-»_

She paused, looking around, trying to find a plaque, or something that told her where she was. Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized the street she was in.

_«-in Stonehaven, apparently.»_

She stopped writing and lowered her head to rest on her hands; she laughed nervously into her hands.

* * *

**Jo had started walking as soon as he'd received the message; he'd scribbled a hasty reply telling Dan to meet him in front of Charles McHardy's, the butcher's shop. He knew she could find it; he'd taken her there once when she had stayed over ages ago.**

**He approached the corner, turned it, and squinted. Dan was not alone. She hadn't told him Ezra would be tagging along. He tried not to feel hurt or suspicious.**

**Ezra, on the other hand, was looking firmly at the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. This was definitely not what he had had in mind.**

**"I've brought my savings," Josiah whispered to Dan after a few moments' pause. He opened a worn leather wallet and produced four twenty pound notes. "Sorry, it's all I've got. Well, that and a few pence. Erm, pennies. Like sickles."**

**Ezra squinted at the notes skeptically. He doubted the validity of paper money.**

* * *

Daniella didn't have time to prepare either of them for that meeting, but she couldn't bring herself to feel too worried about it right now. She gave Ezra's hand a quick squeeze as Jo approached. "I'd trust him with my life, Ezra," she whispered. "You can trust him too, I promise. Just give him a chance."

She pulled Jo into a tight hug when he approached. "I'm so glad to see you." She looked at his hands and shook her head. "No, it's alright, you don't have to. I've got Muggle money." She showed Jo the money she'd been given at Gringotts. "I think it's enough… I was told it would be enough for a few days." She paused, then looked from Ezra to Jo, tentatively. "Ezra ran away too, Jo." She took Ezra's hand. "We're sort of hiding, until we can go back to school."

* * *

**Jo gave his best friend a warm squeeze, then stood back and looked at the pair of them. He sighed softly, folding the bills back into his wallet before examining the money in her hand. His eyes widened.**

**"I should say so," he mumbled under his breath, looking at a folded wad of bills that must have been a good 400 pounds. Honestly, purebloods. "It'll last you weeks around these parts, if you've a right mind."**

**He looked to Ezra tentatively, and then back to Dan.**

**"I'd invite you guys to the house, but... well, that's not really a good idea at the moment," he said vaguely. "There's an inn down the way, and the owner is good friends with my dad. I'll take you there and buy you something to eat, at least."**

**Ezra surveyed the shorter, softer boy, the ember of embarrassment that had been burning in his chest settling down into nothing. It wasn't what he'd banked on when he'd left home, but now wasn't the time to be picky. As far as the people looking for him were concerned, he wasn't any better than Josiah.**

* * *

Daniella looked at her own hands, confused. "Really?! You really can't trust those goblins, can you?" she murmured, stuffing the money back into her pocket.

She cleared her throat, trying to sound more determined than she felt. "That sounds perfect, I'm starving." She glanced at Ezra again. They weren't at each other's throats yet. That was a good start, she supposed.

"We should get settled; walking around with the trunks won't do us any good," she told Ezra. "Do you want to try the inn or should we go to the hotel?"

* * *

**Josiah smiled grimly; he was sure that goblins knew as much about Muggle money as the average pureblood wizard did.**

**"Inn's cheaper," Jo offered for their consideration. "And warmer, usually. With better food. The hotel is mostly for tourists, or what few we get around these parts."**

**Ezra stiffened, not wanting to feel pressured into a decision.**

**"I'd like to look at them both," he said quietly, answering Daniella's question. Jo fought the urge to roll his eyes.**

**"Well, the hotel's over there," he pointed west to a building that was taller than the rest, but still not very tall in general. It had a flashing neon sign on the front of an otherwise classic looking front. "And the inn is down there." He pointed to a squat but busy building that had a sign out front with the daily specials written in chalk. Today's was roast beef and gravy with potatoes and a dessert of your choice.**

**Ezra flushed, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.**

**"The inn's fine," he conceded without looking at the other boy.**

* * *

Daniella pursed her lips at the exchange, repressing a sigh. Men!

"Now that that's settled," she said, smiling brightly at both of them, "can we get settled in too and eat something?" She started off towards the inn, pulling the trunk along. They would follow her eventually.

It was amusing that Ezra had brought them over here, of all places.

"Were you able to fix the boat?" She asked Jo, when he caught up.

* * *

**"Erm," Jo murmured, furrowing his eyebrows. "Sort of." He didn't really want to think about it. He didn't really want to think about anything, actually; sometimes he was certain that being a Muggle was easier, even without all the household spells.**

**He pushed open the door to the inn, flagging down the man behind the bar, who gave him a broad smile.**

**"JoJo!" He said loudly, and Jo gave a thin smile. "What can I do ya for?"**

**"My friends need a room for the night," he replied. "And we're going to order lunch." The man, who was named Frank, looked politely at Dan and Ezra for their orders.**

**"I'll have the daily special, please," Ezra said, raising his voice a bit in order to be heard over the din of pub conversation. Frank tried to keep a straight face at his posh London accent.**

**"You lot from outta town, eh? Best roast beef you ever had in your life, I guarantee." He scribbled on a notepad. "And you, miss?"**

* * *

Daniella wasn't satisfied with Jo's answer, but decided it was best not to force the matter for the time being. She rested a comforting hand on his back before entering the building.

The outside had looked welcoming, and the inside wasn't disappointing in the slightest. The dining area's decoration was simple, with stone walls, a large fireplace and windows with a view to the harbor; it gave the place a rural but cozy feel, prepared with obvious care. She liked it instantly. She grinned at the man behind the bar.

"If that's the case, I'll have the same, thanks." Then she faced the two boys she suspected would give her early grey hair. She didn't want their stay there to be tense and uncomfortable; maybe it was best to give them a few minutes apart.

She turned to Ezra, who still looked rather stiff. "Why don't we go upstairs?" She asked softly. "We can leave the trunks in the room before lunch and eat more comfortably then." Then she turned to Jo with a tentative smile. Keeping them both satisfied promised to be hard work. "Do you mind? It'll just take a few minutes."

* * *

**Jo struggled between tolerance and annoyance, settling eventually on tolerance because it was easier to manage and because they were in a public place.**

**"It's fine," he murmured, picking at a large plate of chips. "Take your time." Frank handed Dan a key over the bar.**

**"Third on the left," he specified.**

**Ezra had already gotten a tight grip on his trunk, ready to flee the scene.**

* * *

Daniella took the lead, showing more determination than she felt. Ezra had chosen the place, even if he didn't know Jo lived here. It wasn't like he could blame anyone else for Jo's presence. But if he was going to act like a sulky kid the whole time, she would start considering the possibility of going back to the Leaky Cauldron and Sabrina's bad mood.

_Baby steps_, she told herself as she unlocked the door to their room. She looked around, her smile growing more pleased with everything she saw. There was a large window ahead, from where they had an even better view than they had downstairs. The walls and the furniture had soft, soothing colors; the bed had a bunch of fluffy pillows; there was one of those televisions like the one in Jo's house and they also had a private bathroom.

"Isn't it lovely?" She asked, finally free to use her wand to set her trunk on a free corner. She searched Ezra's eyes. "What do you think?"

* * *

**Ezra laid his trunk down wearily, shrugging. He had been abruptly woken, catapulted into an unfamiliar world, and now he was feeling extremely left out; of course that Mudblood would know all the best places, the best ideas. He was smart, and Ezra knew it, and Ezra hated it, too.**

**He wanted all of Dan's affection, all of her attention, all of her praise.**

**"What in Merlin's name is that?" He murmured, pointing at the telephone on the small but handsome oak nightstand. "And this box with glass on?"**

**He had never taken Muggle studies. His mother had balked endlessly at the idea.**

* * *

Daniella followed his gestures. "Oh, I think that's a telephone!" She said with maybe a little too much excitement. "Jo never let me use his. He says it costs money; Muggles use it to contact each other instead of using owls. And that's a television. They see moving pictures and people with it. Like photos, except they talk too." She grinned at him. "We can try them later, it should be fun!"

The grin died slowly as his expression didn't change. He still wasn't happy. "Unless you don't want to stay here… I mean, it's up to you, of course. I've looked up how we can return to Hogwarts before the end of the holidays."

* * *

**Ezra squinted critically at the telephone, examining it from several angles without touching it. There were no holes to put money in. There was a small plastic-covered plaque with numbers on the front of it; they were labeled things like 'front desk' and 'press 0 to dial out.' There was also a takeout menu with more numbers beside the contraption, and a giant volume of thin paper that was simply called a 'phone book.' He pulled open a few pages; it had even more numbers in it. He made a face.**

**It was all a little too much at once.**

**"It's alright," he said after a while, sitting on the bed, which was one of the few things in the room he recognized. "It's just a bit of an adjustment, you understand. Being surrounded by so many M-Muggles." The word got stuck in his throat and he had to force it out.**

**It wasn't necessarily that they were Muggles, he decided; it's that the Muggles thought he was a Muggle too.**

* * *

Daniella sat beside him, resting a gentle hand on his knee. "I know… and I understand. I've been in Stonehaven a few times before and I still start to feel itchy that I can't use magic most of the time. By the way, you'll have to tell me how you know this place, so far from home." She bumped her shoulder teasingly against his. "I'm sure it's an interesting story."

She took a long look around and sighed. She wanted to make it easier for him somehow, but at the same time, she knew he had to be the one willing to be open to a different experience, a different reality; open to find out that even with all the differences, someone like him and someone like Jo were the same in what really mattered.

Maybe he would get there, one day… She studied his face, doubtfully. Maybe…

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she remembered the other upset boy waiting downstairs, and wished she could split in two.

"Lunch will probably be ready in a few minutes. Why don't you take that time to rest, or wash your face, or… whatever you need. You had a rough morning." She kissed his cheek lightly. "And then, when you feel a little better, you can join us downstairs and eat something. Alright?" She squeezed his knee for a moment, offering him a fully teasing smirk. "If you're a good, nice wizard undercover, we can take a walk by the beach or do whatever you want in the afternoon."

* * *

**Ezra was feeling especially melancholic, but he didn't think he could hear those words come out of Daniella's mouth and not at least smirk.**

**"Deal," he murmured, shedding his coat and leaving it behind on the bed. "I'll wash up and meet you downstairs. Don't steal any of my chips."**


	14. Back in Hogwarts

**Chapter 14 - Back in Hogwarts**

Daniella braced herself for the next couple of hours. Going back downstairs, she looked around until she found Jo already seated at a corner table. She took the seat across from him at the table and folded her arms on the table. "So…" She started, trying to read his expression. "How are you, really?"

* * *

**Jo was resting his chin on his palm, staring quietly into space. He had a lot on his mind.**

**"You could have warned me he was here," he said a bit reproachfully, realizing that wasn't an answer to her question. "I mean, generally you warn people when they're about to meet someone who hates their guts, aye?" He was trying not to sound bitter, but it was hard. He felt replaced.**

**"I'm okay." He wasn't sure if it was a lie. He certainly wasn't injured, in danger, or violently ill. He wasn't happy, either. "I fixed the boat, mostly. The machinery and the net have to be done by hand."**

**He sighed, already feeling guilty for snapping.**

**"How are you? Do you need anything?"**

* * *

"I'm sorry, there was no time. Everything happened too fast and… he was the one who Apparated us here. When I realized where we were…" She gave an apologetic shrug, looking at the table between them. "I'm so sorry, Jo. For everything." Words were useless; she felt useless in that whole situation, but she didn't know what else to say.

"I couldn't just abandon him. He ran away, Jo… I'm not saying he's changed, I'm not saying it erases what he has done. You have every right to hate him. I'm not trying to force you to spend time with him, but I couldn't leave him behind." She looked around to make sure Ezra hadn't returned yet and lowered her voice. "His family hates him as much as they hate you or even me, now… He doesn't have anyone else."

She shrugged off his concern for her well being. "I'm fine. It was a matter of time for this to happen for me. I was planning on waiting for the end of the school year, but the sooner the better, I suppose. I have some money; and it'll get easier after school. I will need your help to do decently in my NEWTs, though," she gave him a pained chuckle, trying to raise his spirits. "I'll need to find a job as soon as possible."

* * *

**"I don't hate him," Jo mumbled stubbornly. "It's just… you know… we don't get along. That's all. It doesn't mean I hate him."**

**He pondered her words in silence, then looked up as though he had just realized something.**

**"He Apparated both of you here from London? And all your stuff? Side-along?" Josiah asked, picking at his fingernails. He felt a small flicker of jealousy. He had never been much good at Transfiguration. "That's impressive." He was loath to admit it.**

**His eyes flicked to the staircase, where Ezra had just appeared, and he bit his lip in an act of remarkable self-control. He would not sink to that level. He would not judge a person he didn't really know.**

**"You can count on me," he said with a half-smile, looking back down to the table as Ezra pulled up a chair.**

* * *

Daniella smiled gratefully, then snorted at his question. "Yeah, he did! And I didn't even lose a shoe this time," she added. "Or a piece of my ear."

Following his gaze, she saw Ezra and took a mental deep breath. Round two was about to start. Hopefully it would be a little better this time. "Thanks," she murmured, squeezing his hand for a moment.

There was a long and awkward silence when the three of them were settled. Daniella's eyes flicked from one to the other, then up to the ceiling. She really hoped the food would arrive soon.

"So," she started brightly. If none of them wanted to take the initiative, she'd choose the subject, and they could just deal with it. She focused her gaze on Ezra. "May I know how you know Stonehaven, or is it a secret?"

* * *

**Ezra shuffled a bit in his seat, taking a peanut from the jar in the center of the table and crunching it slowly to buy some time.**

**"I didn't know what it was called when I was here the first time," he murmured. "We're very close to Hogwarts, you know. I um… Apparated here on accident. From Hogsmeade." He flushed a bit; he hoped Daniella wouldn't lose confidence in his abilities because of that. "It was only the second time I'd ever done it. I went in the wrong direction and ended up in that same alley I took you to earlier."**

**"It's true," Josiah murmured, nodding a bit in an attempt to be friendly. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother taking the train; it's just a hop and a skip."**

**Ezra didn't reply, but nodded slowly and deliberately, the first step to acknowledgement.**

**Their food arrived, and Jo was sure everyone felt as relieved as he did.**

* * *

Daniella raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Oh… Well, I'd figured out the castle was in Scotland, but I didn't know…" She trailed off, then looked at Jo seriously. "You couldn't miss the train, though. You're a Prefect."

She paused until all the food had been served and the waiter left. "At least you Apparated on a beautiful place," she continued, smirking at Ezra. "In my first actual attempt at Apparating from Hogsmeade, I ended up on some stinky Muggle factory. I gave a couple of ladies quite a start," she laughed at that memory.

* * *

**Josiah smiled despite himself, remembering that memory fondly. He realized that he was too happy to be acceptable and quickly turned to his food.**

**"It took me two tries to pass my test," he grumbled, and he was sure he saw Ezra smirk at this. It took all of his willpower to ignore it. Mudblood jokes he was used to, but fat jokes he definitely would not tolerate.**

**Ezra was cutting into his roast beef with intense concentration, trying to think of something to say that would not ruin his potentially blissful afternoon with Daniella.**

**"It could be worse," he settled on eventually. "Yaxley still hasn't passed his."**

**Both boys looked sideways at Dan, as though this was some sort of freestyle exam.**

* * *

Daniella ate with slow, deliberate movements, trying to keep an even, relaxed expression on her face. It was like being close to a couple of wild creatures and any sudden movements could startle them and have them running back to hide in the shadows.

She repressed a chuckle at that; the last time she'd felt that way, she'd been helping Hagrid with the unicorn foals in the Forbidden Forest.

Ezra's words made her heart skip a beat, delightfully, not because of what he'd said, but because it was the first time she'd seen him address Jo in a non humiliating or derisive way.

She looked up from her plate when they fell silent; they were looking at her expectantly. "I'm amazed Yaxley hasn't lost any body parts yet," she said, snorting. Then, she met Jo's eyes and smirked. "But you shouldn't be upset; you get everything else right on your first try anyway. Which I'm glad for, because then you can explain it to me."

* * *

**"Not everything," Josiah murmured, although he couldn't help but feel rather pleased at being complimented. His cheeks were slightly pink.**

**They ate in silence for a few minutes, the clinking of silverware against plates the primary sound between them. It was delicious, as usual; in Jo's opinion, there was nothing like good Scottish home cooking to bring people together, even people who had hated each other before.**

**"Can either of you converse via Patronus?" He asked after a while, with a more serious tone. If they were going to be on the run, they needed a safer way to communicate than owls or Floo. The notebook was good, but it could be intercepted; he was just taking precautions.**

**"Can you?" Ezra murmured, a polite look of disbelief etched into his cruelly handsome features. "My Patronus isn't even corporeal."**

**Jo licked some gravy off of his finger, furrowing his eyebrows and trying not to look too concerned. Teaching someone like that would be a lot of work.**

* * *

Daniella shrugged a bit sheepishly. "I've only been close to conjure mine once. And it didn't last more than a couple of seconds. If I tried to make it say anything…" she flushed a little at the thought. "Well, that would be an amusing mess, I think."

She understood where Jo was getting at, though. She pondered that while she finished her chips. "It would be quite useful, admittedly." She exchanged a look with Ezra. "We should really get to work on that."

* * *

**Jo looked at his watch, which he had received on his birthday as a surprise from his parents after telling them that wizards traditionally received a watch for their 17th birthday. It was quite special to him, and more importantly, it told time very well.**

**"It's quarter to ten," he informed them, scooping up the last bit of mashed potatoes off of his plate. "Are you free this afternoon, or did you… have plans?" He said the last bit rather grudgingly, as though he felt offended for having to ask in the first place.**

**Ezra said nothing, looking at Daniella submissively. They had every intention of making her choose.**

* * *

Daniella's good spirits vanished. She said nothing for a long time; she'd been trapped. She couldn't please both of them. Suddenly, what had started to look like a pleasant day, was going to be ruined.

"Uh…" she started, flushing intensely. She looked down at her plate, but there was no more food to keep her busy. Putting down her fork with care, she laced her fingers and sighed, glancing up at Jo guiltily. "I had promised Ezra I'd spend the afternoon with him…" She said in a small voice.

She looked away, biting her lip. This was so not fair! "Can I stop by your house later tonight, or tomorrow morning, whenever you think it's best…" She trailed off. Right now, she wasn't very fond of men.

* * *

**"You might have a bit of trouble finding it," Jo confessed, trying to push the rejection to the far corners of his mind. He just couldn't deal with this right now; they had only gotten especially close over one holiday, and they were already planning days together in advance? "I made it Unplottable, I put up Apparation blocks, extensive protective charms, two Sneakoscopes on the far ends, and anyone who breaks through all of that is going to be hexed with purple skin until they can figure out how to reverse my Charmwork which can be said for very few people that I know, what about you?"**

**He was slightly out of breath after all of that, but it had been worth it.**

**"So, no, that's probably not a good idea. I'll come to you."**

* * *

It took Daniella great effort not to flinch at his tone. But it wasn't like she had done something wrong. She'd offered to help and he hadn't wanted it. He'd blatantly told her she couldn't go to his house twice already. It hurt.

What else could she do? It wasn't like she could control her brother. She was doing the best she could to help them both, and it still wasn't enough. Why did it have to be so difficult?

She looked out the window instead. "You're right," she said in a low voice. "I'll wait for you."

* * *

**"I'll go home and gather up a few things so that you don't…" Josiah glanced at Ezra, who was wearing an old-fashioned collar shirt. "...have any trouble," he finished tactfully.**

**"I'll come back in the evening, alright? Five or six." He pushed his chair back and stood up quickly, brushing some crumbs off of his shirt. "Don't worry about the tab. I've already paid it."**

**He left.**

**Ezra had been quiet for a while now, and he looked at Daniella tentatively. He wasn't sure what to say.**

**"Can't imagine why you're friends with someone who makes you feel so awful," he decided on, engrossing himself once more in slicing his roast beef.**

* * *

"Don't," Daniella said abruptly. Everything had been fine just a minute ago. _Bloody hell!_ She pressed two fingers between her eyes. "Just… don't go there."

She returned his look. "For people who never got along before, you two teamed up awfully well," she said accusingly. "Maybe I should've made the two of you spend the afternoon together instead."

* * *

**"Well, I don't know about him, but that idea doesn't really strike my fancy," Ezra murmured dryly before chewing. He sighed; he wasn't going to have any fun at all this afternoon at this rate. "He left without ordering his dessert," the boy noted somewhat snidely.**

**"Do you suppose they'll let us eat it instead?" Perturbed by the lack of response, he sighed heftily. "I don't hate Muggleborns," he defended himself unnecessarily.**

**"But you can't expect me to become best mates with someone like that overnight. We're completely different."**

* * *

Daniella studied the empty seat where her friend had been. He was really upset with her. She felt bad for causing him so much trouble, but he was being very unfair.

She rested a hand over Ezra's, linking her fingers with his. "I know that. I don't expect you to like him just because I want you to. Or vice-versa." She turned her head to look at him. "But neither of you can't expect me to forget the other one exists either. He's my best friend and you're…" she looked away again, not sure how to finish that sentence. "I need both of you," she murmured at last.

* * *

**"Well, he definitely exists," Ezra said matter-of-factly. "It's rather hard to wish away someone that stocky." Satisfied at getting his last quip of the day in, he sighed. He didn't even have room for dessert now.**

**"In any case," he said silkily, massaging her hand with the top of his thumb. "Since we have the room to ourselves for the afternoon…." He trailed off, smirking a little.**

**"Shall we?"**

* * *

Daniella rolled her eyes. "You should be careful not to say those things. He was right about his Charmwork, you know?" She said, not without a teasing note.

She glanced around the dining room, which was mostly empty at this hour, then leaned a bit against him. "You better make this afternoon worth all the fuss it caused," she whispered against his ear before standing and pulling him by the hand to the staircase.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_A couple weeks later_

**Josiah was leaning against the wall opposite a portrait of a large woman in a pink gown. They were looking at each other a little sheepishly; the hallway was perfectly silent.**

**He hadn't had a very good holiday. He'd gotten to have sex, of course, which had been rather nice, but between his father's boat being trashed and Dan and Ezra being... well, Dan and Ezra, he'd gotten very little sleep and even less time to properly enjoy himself.**

**He was waiting on Noah to arrive. He looked at his watch.**

* * *

"I really wanted to have bought the new Comet already, but I got a little distracted and spent more money than I should've," Shawn was saying, as he and Noah made their way up the final set of stairs to the Gryffindor tower. "If you hadn't been gone for so long, maybe-"

He stopped abruptly, squinting at the figure leaning against the wall ahead. He scowled when he recognized the annoying Ravenclaw Prefect.

"Jo…siah," Noah greeted cheerfully, adding the last syllable in the last second; Shawn stopped and looked pointedly at his teammate. Noah had kept walking, so he couldn't see his face anymore. But that tone of voice. What the hell…?

"What are you doing here?" Noah asked Jo, more firmly this time, taking his broom off of his shoulder.

* * *

**Jo slid up the wall rather reproachfully, eyeing the boy beside Noah and clearing his throat in what he hoped was a relatively authoritative manner.**

**"Waiting for you," he said plainly, as though this was nothing to be ashamed of. Of course, it wasn't, but it was always good to be especially confident. "I wanted to talk to you about… erm… conflicting Quidditch pitch request forms. I'll need a moment, since you're Captain."**

* * *

Noah blinked. Shawn's scowl grew deeper and he moved forward, locking his eyes with Johnston's. "What are you talking about? Since when are you in Ravenclaw's Quidditch team?" He looked the other boy from head to toe. "I suppose you'd make a decent Keeper," he said with a lopsided smirk.

"Why don't you shut up, Shawn?" Noah snapped, turning to face him.

Shawn's smirk became calculating at that. Interesting reaction.

"Just go ahead and take my broom, I'll catch up with you," Noah said harshly.

"Yes, maybe I should," Shawn said in a low voice, taking the broom from the other boy's hands, throwing Johnston one last glance that said, _I'm watching you_. "You don't want to leave your new buddy waiting," he added, walking away.

* * *

**Josiah flushed a brilliant shade of pink; people very rarely questioned what he said.**

**"I am in charge of keeping the forms in order for presentation in the Prefect's meetings," he said stiffly, which was completely true. "And I only discuss relevant business with the Captain. Whether he shares it with the rest of you is… none of my concern," his melodic Scottish accent wobbled a bit with the effort of speaking primly.**

**He started toward the opposite end of the hallway, stopping in front of the portrait which served as a shortcut to the 5th floor. He drew an 'X' with his fingertip in the corner of the canvas, and the picture swung sideways.**

**"Some mate you've got," Jo murmured under his breath when Noah caught up to him. "Real charmer, him."**

* * *

Noah rubbed his neck awkwardly. That wasn't the greeting he'd expected. "Sorry about that. He's been a little annoyed with me, since I disappeared in the holidays."

He followed Jo into the shortcut and the portrait slid back into place behind him. He reached out a hand, but he hesitated before touching Jo. He settled to walk at his side. "Hmm… So, was that really the reason you wanted to see me?" He asked with a tentative smile.

* * *

**Jo clenched his jaw, somehow feeling grated by Noah's nonchalant tone of voice. He whipped out his wand and illuminated the small tunnel with a slightly brighter than intended ball of magical light.**

**"You know, a dark wizard ruined my father's boat over the holiday. Oh, and my best friend got a new… boy-something, who happens to hate my guts. And I can't leave my house, and I can't even have a proper lie-in, because I have to keep every single thing about my life a secret, and even when the boy I love comes over I have to tell my parents he's just my mate and then his mates talk to me like I'm garbage and then I feel like all I am is a sex toy! A sex toy," he whispered emphatically.**

**"Apparently I can't even wait for you in a bloody hallway."**

* * *

Noah took a step back, as if Jo's bitter words had been a physical hit. "What…?" He paled as he slowly processed what he could of that stream of words.

"No! Merlin's broom, you're not-" He grabbed Jo's arm as gently as he could, pulling the Ravenclaw closer. "Jo, that's not true. I really like you, but… I just…" he choked on the words. He didn't know what to say. "I need time to… to prepare them, to… tell them."

In that moment, he was sure Jo would push him away, but he still wrapped his arms around him. Concern and anger bubbled up when he thought of what Jo had said first. "Who was it, Jo?" He asked darkly. "Did they hurt you? Your family?"

* * *

**Jo wanted to pull away in his anger, wanted to step backwards and glare, but as soon as Noah's arms closed around him, he found himself leaning forward and into the other boy's chest. Noah always smelled nice; he felt nice, too, firm and strong, but somehow just soft enough to be comforting. Tears stung the rims of Jo's eyes and he gave a half-hearted sob into Noah's shirt.**

**"It's been so awful," he blubbered, muffled by the fabric. "At the beginning of the school year, Dan's brother came to my house and said that if I kept hanging around her, he was going to hurt my family, and I tried to find a way around it, but she's my best friend, and we ended up talking, and he found out, and he r-ruined my dad's boat, and I had to put so many Charms on the house and I'm so s-s-scared," he elaborated. He was crying so hard now that he might as well be speaking Mermish.**

**"And I didn't mean to snap at you, I really didn't," he went on. "But I'm just so upset and I feel like I can't be with anyone and be myself, I have to lie about everything, and I just want one person… one person that I don't have to lie about," he ended pitifully, taking a deep shaky sigh. "Just one."**

* * *

Noah sighed into Jo's hair, relishing the feel of holding him so close. It felt easy and relaxing, but it didn't help with his concerns.

He looked around; the shortcut ended right ahead of them, and he remembered a few unused classrooms in the corridor it led to. He guided a very disturbed Jo to one of those rooms and closed the door behind them.

"Dan's brother…" he started, trying to pick up on what he could to make sense of that story. He must mean Daniella Hawke, his Slytherin friend. His frustration spiked and he looked at Jo a bit angrily. "Why on earth do you hang out with Slytherins? And who is that brother of hers?" He looked more intently at Jo. "Why didn't you say something sooner? I could've… I can…" A dozen different thoughts crossed his mind, all of them rather violent. He closed his eyes and huffed.

"You can trust me, Jo. You don't have to lie to me about anything. And I can do something about that asshole," he suggested seriously.

* * *

**Jo slid into a nearby chair, laying his head on the desk and looking up at Noah. The cool surface felt good on his flushed, wet cheek.**

**"She's not like you think," he said a bit defensively, even though he wasn't exactly pleased with Dan at the moment. "She's not a snob or anything. She's never looked down on me for being what I am." He sniffled.**

**"But her brother works for the Ministry," he continued. "There's nothing anyone can do… he could be anywhere, do anything, and nobody would ever…" Jo blanched. "I'm a Mudblood, Noah. Nobody would stand up for me. Not now." He shifted, resting his forehead miserably against the desk and closing his eyes.**

**"And I can't hide in a broom closet properly. I've put on too much weight over Christmas." He sniffled again, slightly more depressed this time. "If I'd known there was going to be a war, I'd have been happy to be a regular old Muggle."**

* * *

Noah groaned at Jo's choice of words. He sat on the chair right next to his. "Don't say that! You're no less than any of them!" He said harshly. "A lot of people will stand up for you, Jo. You're not alone in this war. _I'll_ stand up for you! And that girl, if she's like you say, wouldn't she stand up for you as well?"

He rubbed Jo's shoulder, trying to spark some battling spirit in him. "Would you really prefer to just be a Muggle? Are you just going to give up everything you want without a fight?"

* * *

**Jo looked at Noah seriously, touched and saddened at the same time.**

**"It's not like that," he murmured, reaching up to grab his arm with one hand. He relished the feel of closeness. "Of course I want to fight, I just can't… what am I supposed to do, Noah?" He felt like tearing up again.**

**"Fighting means that I jeopardize everybody I love. If you stand up for me, it means the same thing for you. If Dan does it, she'll never be able to see her family again. Because of me."**

**"Right now all I want is someone to hug me really tightly, okay? If you want to help me, do that for me." His mouth twitched barely in what might have been a half-hearted attempt at a smile. "Tell me you love me."**

* * *

Noah wrapped his arms around Jo, wishing it was that easy to keep him safe. He closed his eyes at his last words, searching his heart.

Why did he hesitate? He knew, since he'd returned from Scotland, alone with his own thoughts on the road for hours, he knew what he wanted, so badly it hurt. He'd had a couple short, more or less turbulent relationships in his life, but he'd never before felt so involved with someone, so dependent on someone else's happiness and approval. It scared the hell out of him, but that had never been enough reason for him to run away from anything.

He sighed, pulling back a little, and searched Jo's sad, clear eyes. "I love you," it was barely a whisper, but he felt like a huge weight had been taken out of his shoulders. He rested his forehead against Jo's. "I love you…"

* * *

**Jo nuzzled against Noah's forehead, tilting slightly and pressing his lips over the other boy's. It was a deep, passionate kiss, but not especially sexual. Josiah didn't feel very sexy.**

**"I love you too," he whispered back, running his tongue over the inside of his own wet lips. He offered a small grin. "I don't so much love your mates, just so you know."**

* * *

Shawn couldn't believe what he was seeing. It hadn't been difficult to catch up with those two after they disappeared behind the portrait, and he wouldn't even have needed to hide, since they were quite distracted… with each other. He couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but he was more concerned about the body language. Noah was all over him; Shawn had never seen him that way with anyone. And now…

Something nasty swelled up inside of him as he saw his friend hugging the other boy. His hands closed into fists. That wasn't the Noah he knew. That wasn't his mate. The nasty feeling inside him overflowed when they… when Noah…

"What the fuck are you doing?" He pulled the door open with a bang, his fury exploding. Noah must be under some kind of sick spell. He held on to his wand and aimed at the Ravenclaw, taking a few steps into the room. "What did you do to him, you freak?"

* * *

**The sudden voice made Josiah jump so high that he bonked heads with Noah and whipped around in a state of blind confusion. His wand was in his hand, and his heart was pounding in his throat.**

**"I – I didn't –" he wasn't sure if the other boy was referring to the kiss, or something else. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know how long he had been there. He paled; had he also heard what he'd said about Dan, or Dan's family? Was he one of Logan's spies? Confusion swirled and mutated into something bigger, hotter, and more dangerous; a surge of resentment swept through Josiah, and his cheeks flushed with anger.**

**"Don't call me a freak," he said in a hushed warning tone, his oddly shaped willow wand hissing periodically with the electric snap of white sparks. "I'm not the one spying behind doorways."**

* * *

Shawn glanced over at Noah, who looked awfully pale, and also as guilty as pissed off. Much against Shawn's wishful thinking, he didn't look like he'd been hexed at all. He shook his head, coming out of his disbelief stupor.

He looked back at the Ravenclaw with disdain. "What should I call you then? Do you prefer faggot?" He raised his wand, ready to attack. "Or maybe-"

"That is enough," Noah roared, the chair he'd been sitting on falling backwards with a loud clatter. He stood between the two wands, apparently blind to the danger they meant. He reached out a tentative hand to his childhood friend. "Shawn, let me explain…" He said and it sounded as a warning.

Shawn pulled away from him. "Don't touch me! What the fuck are you thinking, Noah?" The expression of hurt and shame on Noah's face only made him angrier. "Tell me you're not… you weren't…"

Noah didn't answer. He didn't have to; Shawn had seen it very clearly.

* * *

**"If it makes you feel better," Josiah said through gritted teeth, not lowering his wand. His reputation wasn't the one on the line here; for a single, heart-wrenching moment, Jo worried that the kiss they'd just shared would end up being the last one in a short, rather tumultuous relationship. The anger came again.**

* * *

Thoughts raced through Shawn's mind. Suddenly it all made sense. Noah's constant distractions, his silences, the absences when the team gathered to have some fun; he thought of how long Noah had been refusing to go out with him and the dates he got them.

"Have you lost your mind?" He snapped at Noah, his face scrunched up with disgust. "Are you like him?" He insisted. He wanted to shake some sense into Ledger's hard head. He was throwing everything away for… for… He looked at them, revolted. "I should break that pansy face of yours!" He took another step closer to the Ravenclaw boy, pulling Noah to the side to get a clear sight of Johnston.

* * *

**Josiah, who, he would have liked to note again, had just come back from a very bad Christmas holiday, was already feeling rather unstable when Shawn's words ricocheted off of his mind like a hundred bullets. It was the last straw in a very large, awkwardly placed hay bale.**

**He didn't open his mouth or exercise his vocal chords; he thought the hex so loud that it exploded, tenfold, in several hot white bursts of magic and knocked Shawn well across the room and ruined a nearby desk. It had been a Stinging Hex; unfortunately, he had always been rather good at them, and his victim was quickly puffing up like a very odd marshmallow all over.**

**"I-would-like-to-see-you-try," he spat, his entire arm shaking with the effort of keeping his anger relatively within his body. Chubby he may be, a faggot as well, generally mild-mannered and law-abiding, but it did not change the fact that he was the best at Charms in the Seventh year, and he knew curses that would make Merlin raise an eyebrow.**

* * *

Noah was in shock. He'd been in shock since the interruption, shocked by Shawn's reaction – even though he'd become more certain it would be somewhat like that with each passing day – but most of all, he couldn't help but stare at Jo. His anger filled the room, made the air heavy and electric.

He was still trying to figure out a way to get out of that situation when the room exploded. "Wait, don't-"

Too late. He took a tumbling step back, then looked at where Shawn had landed over the desk. His eyes widened at Shawn's appearance. He looked back at Jo. "What did you do to him?" He asked in a small voice.

It took Shawn a long time to make sense of what had just happened. Damn, he was hurting all over! He groaned as he tried to straighten up. With effort, he got a painful look of Johnston, and his hatred bubbled up stronger than before.

He searched for Noah, who just stood there, looking at the other boy with an awed expression. "Are you going to just stand there and let that…" His empty hands closed and even that hurt like hell. He'd lost his wand too. "…let your girlfriend attack me?"

That made Noah react. In those few moments, he forgot he'd known Shawn for most of his life, forgot they'd been best friends for years. He was blinded by his own fury and a fear he didn't want to acknowledge. He closed in on Shawn – for a second, not sure to do what – and Shawn instinctively pulled away at the look on Noah's face. Shawn knew him; he knew what he was capable of.

"Get out." He looked over Shawn's body, and regret was added up to the mix of emotions. "Go take care of that, it looks nasty. As nasty as your inside, apparently," he said in a low voice. "We will talk later."

* * *

**Josiah stuffed his wand hastily in his pocket, slightly horrified at what he'd done. He'd never actually hexed another student properly before; he'd always prided himself on having a relatively good handle on his emotions, what with being a Prefect and all. The detention he'd had after DADA class was the first he'd ever had, and now… oh, bother. He hadn't even thought about that.**

**He gave Noah an apologetic look, nearing tears again. He'd obviously gone and ruined everything; ruined Noah's friendships, ruined Noah's perspective of him as a mild-mannered, compassionate person… who would want to date a boy who hexed people randomly in brilliant flashes of painful white light?**

**"I'm so sorry," he murmured in a distinct hurry, taking a few steps back. His eyes were pleading, searching Noah's for forgiveness before the magic in the air even had time to settle. "Um, I'll… I'll talk to you later…." He turned and sped into the corridor, his eyes bleary with tears, crawling up the shortcut and back up to the 7th floor, where he sat for a while and sniffled.**

**He would have to turn himself in; there was no other way. It would all come out, eventually, anyway; there was no way Shawn would miss out on telling on him if he could move his swollen lips enough to get the sentence out properly.**

**He stood, brushing the dust off of his pants and looking morosely down the hallway. Professor Flitwick's office was at the very end, of course, near the Ravenclaw common room; there was no easy way to do it, but if he was going to… his head of house, the teacher he loved best, was probably the easiest person to humble himself to. He sighed heavily.**

**The walk was long, like one of those dreams where the hallway keeps extending; for a moment, he'd wondered if it had been cursed. He reached the door finally, took another deep breath, and gave it a soft, tentative knock. There was a dignified squeak of permission from inside, and the door opened of its own accord.**

**"Ah, Josiah," Flitwick said jovially, his glasses twinkling in the dim light of his office. "Do come in. How was your holiday?" The professor realized his mistake when he squinted a little harder and could see quite obviously that Josiah had been crying. He flicked his wand, and the large, blue armchair slid away from the desk for Jo to sit in. He took it gratefully, looking at his hands as though he thought he deserved to be handcuffed.**

**"Professor, I've just hexed someone," he said sullenly, his lip quivering uncontrollably. "Um, you should probably give me detention."**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah paced Gryffindor's common room for a long time after everyone else had gone to sleep. He felt trapped in there, caged, but he didn't want to leave until he talked to Shawn.

He'd refused to tell anyone what had happened. It was hard enough to believe how things could've have gone from so great to so awful in only a couple of minutes. He couldn't stop thinking about Jo and his team. The two most important things in his life, and now he was sure he was going to lose them both. Shawn would make sure his teammates would turn against him, he was certain, and Jo had left the classroom so hastily, looking so hurt…

Noah had been far too stunned to be able to say anything, and then it had been too late.

And now, here he was, feeling the most miserable of creatures, and it was all his fault. He'd tried to balance everything, thought that keeping it all a secret would've granted him everything he'd wished, and now he had nothing. His dream of becoming a professional player was hanging by a thread; and he'd failed Jo. He'd been caught up between two different loyalties and broken his promise only a few minutes after making it.

Maybe he deserved what was happening to him. Maybe…

The Fat Lady's portrait moved with a low rustle, making him turn his head in that direction. Shawn slowly made his way inside, repressing a groan of pain as he stumbled a little. He stopped when he noticed Noah's presence. His expression hardened – well, as much as it was possible, considering he was still pretty swollen all over.

"I really don't want to look at you right now." His voice was raspy and still so angry.

Noah tried to swallow his own anger; they were friends… had been friends. Was that really gone, just like that? Maybe it was. At least Noah wasn't sure he would be able to forgive Shawn for the things he'd said; for the look in his eyes, most of all.

"Well, suck it up, because we need to talk," he said, trying to control his temper. "We have a game in a couple of weeks."

"Oh, so _now_ you remember that? Maybe it's been too long since you've been distracted with-" Shawn stopped himself, looked around the room. He looked back at Noah.

"Unlike you, I am not an idiot. You want to ruin your future because of that… guy, go ahead! But I'm not going to ruin my chances. Your dirty, nasty secret is safe… until the end of the next match. But don't expect me to follow any of your commands, _Captain_. I'm not interested in that sort of thing." He started walking away to the boy's dorm, but stopped and turned. "And enjoy your last few days as Captain."


	15. Quidditch Practice

**Chapter 15 - Quidditch Practice**

**Josiah packed up his Potions kit quietly, still very much heavy with the weight of his upcoming detention. Flitwick, who had been very sympathetic to him overall, even without all the details, had assigned him to Professor McGonagall. The small man had probably thought that this was a relief for Josiah, but thinking of McGonagall's stern, lined face kept making him shudder inwardly.**

**At the very least, he attempted to console himself, he'd gotten a very good grade on his potion for the day. Clearly his heightened focus was worth something, if not his peace of mind.**

**He hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Dan yet; she and Ezra had been partnered, and Alisa had swept him away, probably with the intent of making him feel better.**

* * *

Daniella vanished the remaining contents of her cauldron swiftly, her gaze locked on Jo. Something was definitely wrong with him; she didn't care if he was still upset with her, she was going to find out what it was.

She could go without Alisa's presence, but the Ravenclaw girl was the least of her concerns at the moment.

She turned to Ezra and murmured, "I think we should start working on the Patronus." Her eyes shifted to Sabrina, a couple seats in front of them. "Wait for me, I'll talk to Jo, see if he can do it today."

* * *

**"I had detention with McGonagall once," Alisa murmured, flicking her wand casually between her fingers. Josiah noticed that no sparks emerged from it; he often wondered what kind of mental control his friend exercised that enabled her to be so sure of herself. He shifted a bit in his seat. "It wasn't so bad. She made me clean the chalk erasers."**

**Jo smiled half-heartedly, knowing that her words were meant to soothe his anxiety.**

**"I should have thought about what I did before I did it, though," he mumbled, and his friend smiled rather teasingly.**

**"Don't fret; I'll finish the job you started next week. And I certainly won't apologize."**

**They stood, swinging their bags over their shoulders, and Josiah made eye contact with Dan. Ezra was still huddled over the desk, working on something in particular; it looked like he was trying to copy something very quickly out of the restricted textbook they had been given for the day's work. Josiah frowned a little, walking toward the table.**

**He found that, when he arrived in front of his friend, he didn't know what he had meant to say, so he stood rather silently and awkwardly and hoped that she would start the conversation.**

* * *

"Good job today," Daniella said lightly when Jo approached. She rested a hand on his shoulder, throwing Alisa a quick, hard look. "I need to ask you something, if you have a few minutes." She studied his expression. "Is everything alright?"

* * *

**"Thanks," Jo murmured softly, his mouth twitching upwards slightly. Much as he was dreading the evening, he really was rather pleased with himself.**

**"Aye, what's on your mind?" He asked, trying to appear nonchalant. His eyes flicked back to Ezra, who was still copying hurriedly, and then focused once more on his friend.**

**"Erm, it's a bit of a long story. You go first."**

* * *

Daniella lowered her voice to a murmur. "Well, I was hoping we could start our… lessons, today." She glanced over her shoulder at Ezra, who was still busily copying the last instructions on the potion, then picked up her bag and took Jo's hand, heading towards the hallway outside of the classroom.

"I guess I'm just looking forward to a few hours where I don't have to constantly look over my shoulder, expecting to find a wand pointed at me," she shrugged. "Do you still want to teach us?"

* * *

**"Oh," Josiah murmured, feeling relatively guilty all of a sudden. "Sorry, I can't today. I've got detention." He realized that this sounded like a blatant lie, and he grimaced inwardly.**

**"I hexed the Gryffindor Seeker, so I've got it with McGonagall." He swallowed rather hard. "Like I said, it's a long story."**

**He looked up at his friend apologetically, stuffing his hands into his pockets.**

**"Um, how about Saturday?"**

* * *

Daniella's eyebrows shot upwards at his words. "Detention, you?!" She felt a sudden urge to laugh at how unexpected the situation was, but his expression was so serious she contained herself. She was burning with curiosity, though. "Er… sure, Saturday is fine."

She searched her memories; wasn't that Noah's friend? She remembered seeing them together in the corridors a lot. She studied Jo more closely. He didn't look like he was physically hurt, at least. "I can make time, if you want to talk…" She offered, seriously.

* * *

**Jo looked at her solemnly; he didn't feel like saying it again.**

**"I may or may not have hit him with ten Stinging Hexes at once," he mumbled, looking over at a shadow that was gathering behind them; it was Ezra, and he had just caught up. Josiah squinted a bit at the other boy. Saying that he might have been up to something was totally unnecessary; he was a Slytherin, and they were usually up to something.**

**"I'll meet you both in the abandoned Divination room on the 4th floor on Saturday afternoon," he told them, looking at Dan in particular. "Sorry, I've got Charms now."**

* * *

Daniella's amused smirk died slowly. "Sure… Go ahead, have fun."

She liked to think of herself as mature enough to not act childishly most of the time, but right now she was feeling rather sulky and having trouble keeping it to herself. She saw Alisa walking away after Jo; she probably knew what had happened, Daniella thought bitterly.

She glanced up at Ezra, then started toward the stairs. "Did you get everything?"

* * *

**Ezra, who had been pointedly silent until that point, fell into stride beside Daniella and smirked to himself.**

**"Yes, I did," he murmured, quite pleased with himself. "Did you know there were recipes in that book that called for bat blood?" He paused for dramatic effect. "Do you know how long bat blood has been banned in Potion supply stores? Nearly a century."**

**He squinted into the sunlight as they left the castle, holding a hand over his brow.**

**"It's so potent, in fact, that potions which utilize it are some of the most widely feared and… notoriously effective." He grinned over at Daniella, wondering if that excited her as much as it excited him. "I'll show you what I've copied later. I daresay it might end up being… useful."**

**The greenhouse appeared in their view as they turned the corner.**

* * *

Daniella raised an impressed eyebrow. "I've seen a couple of those recipes before, in an old book I found in my father's library," she said thoughtfully. "But he caught me reading it once, and hid it, saying those were far too dangerous for a 13 year old." She rolled her eyes a bit. "Since I never found bat blood anywhere, I didn't think much of it after that incident."

She pondered his excitement for a few moments, then stopped, looking at him. "You're not thinking of making us go on a bat hunt, are you?"

* * *

**"Decidedly not," Ezra murmured, stopping outside the door to the greenhouse in order to finish the conversation. "However, if I happen to sneak into Hogsmeade and… come across… a vial or two," he smirked again.**

**The room was already half-full with students, and he took a seat at the coveted middle table, where vicious plants couldn't reach you from either side. He grabbed a pair of thick gloves off of the nearby stack.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah made his way to Charms class through the crowds of younger students filling the corridors. His day had just started a couple hours ago and he was already eager for it to be over.

When he'd gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast, he'd approached his teammates cautiously, wondering what they knew about the incident the day before.

They knew something was wrong, if not exactly what yet. Shawn had made that blatantly obvious, when he stood abruptly at the sight of Noah, mumbling something about refusing to eat with traitors, and stormed out.

Noah, having lost his appetite, passed by without stopping and made his way to the library, where he sat by himself, pretending to be studying.

And now he was going to share a room with all of his teammates and Jo. The class that had been his favorite in the last few months, suddenly felt like the place where he would be given his death sentence.

When he reached the door where most of the students had already gathered, he exchanged a look with Shawn, who turned his back on him, murmuring something to the rest of the group. Noah stopped and leaned against the wall, apart from the rest of them, and waited, telling himself to keep it together.

* * *

**Jo slipped as quietly as possible into Charms class, his eyes flicking unwillingly to the side of the room where Shawn and his friends were sitting. He had been dreading it all morning.**

**He looked over at Noah, unsure if he should say something or not. He was also focused on Shawn and the others, so Jo nudged past him, sliding into his usual seat at the table they had been sharing for months now. If Noah wanted to talk to him, he would take the hint.**

* * *

Noah didn't move for a long time, until everyone took their seats; until the hushed conversations started dying out; until Professor Flitwick gave him a questioning look. He couldn't delay it any longer.

Shawn's eyes were locked on him this time, challenging, his wand pending loosely from his fingers. Jo had taken the usual seat, and there was an empty seat next to him. There was also an empty table all the way in the back. But Noah knew that, even if he sat alone, it wouldn't change Shawn's decision about telling everyone what he'd seen.

After a moment of hesitation, Noah clenched his teeth. Damn him if he would let Shawn decide what he could or could not do. He wasn't doing anything wrong, he told himself. Huffing out a breath, he dragged himself to the seat next to Jo, slumping into the chair, looking at the wood top of the table with great interest.

* * *

**Jo was a little more excited than he'd like to admit when Noah slid into the seat beside him. He gave the other boy a small, apologetic smile. He had never meant to make his life so difficult… being a secret had been hard, but watching the boy he loved suffer was proving to be even harder.**

**The Ravenclaw shifted in his seat, silently swearing to himself that he would make it worth Noah's while when they found themselves blessedly alone again.**

**Professor Flitwick cleared his throat, signaling the beginning of class, and Josiah pulled out his book, spreading it in the middle of the table so they could share.**

* * *

Shawn had promised himself he wouldn't do anything until the next game. Much as it cost him to admit it, at the moment, a player like Noah would be impossible to replace in such short notice.

But he knew Noah, knew his past; he knew exactly which buttons to push. And if he did things the right way, Noah would end up kicking himself out of the team. He didn't argue Noah was the better player, and he'd counted on him to succeed and maybe it would give Shawn his chance to shine as well.

He looked at the two of them sitting together. He'd supported Noah all along, in every way, and this was how Ledger thanked the friendship. He glanced at Professor Flitwick; when the short man looked away, he waved his wand discreetly, making Johnston's books fly off the table.

* * *

**Josiah jumped at the sudden movement, blinking uncontrollably at the now-empty tabletop. He set his jaw. So that was how it was going to be; fine.**

**He pulled out his wand and gave it as calm of a flourish as he could muster, and his books floated gently back to their rightful places. He brushed some dust off of the edge of the page with his hand, giving Shawn a sideways glare across the room.**

* * *

Noah swore under his breath, startled, then took a deep breath and mumbled something to himself as he tried to relax. He cast Shawn a quick glance, and received a conceited smirk in return.

Professor Flitwick assigned them their work for the class. More Patronus work, which made Noah groan.

He looked over at Jo, guiltily, then leaned in a bit to murmur, "I'm not good at creating a Patronus. All I get out of my wand are ripples of white smoke…" Someone giggled in the corner where Shawn was; Noah clenched his teeth, straightening on his chair, and resumed the strengthening of his self control. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He murmured, looking straight ahead.

* * *

**"I don't think he expects anything major," Jo tried to comfort Noah, putting all of his books safely into his bag and charming the handles of the bag sturdily around the leg of the table. "I'll help you." He gave a small, warm smile, ignoring the giggle from Shawn and his cronies.**

**"Do what?" he murmured, his heart skipping a beat all of a sudden. Surely he didn't mean…. "Of course I'm sure."**

**He sighed softly, closing his eyes and thinking back to his happiest memory. There were several that he used interchangeably, a tip that he had read in an advanced Charms book. It supposedly kept the memory from getting too stale or overused. Josiah inhaled through his nose, then exhaled slowly, his breath whispering through his teeth.**

**"Expecto Patronum!" He said confidently, his cheeks flushing again at the memory he had chosen. He was glad that no one could read his mind.**

**He opened his eyes. A large, blubbery light-shape was floating around the room, waving its flippers as though swimming through air. Josiah couldn't help himself; he smiled at it. Everyone had stopped to stare, especially Professor Flitwick, who was clapping excitedly.**

**"Oh, well done, Mr. Johnston! Well done, as expected! Ten points!"**

* * *

Noah smiled despite himself at the bright Patronus, showing itself off to the class.

"Aw, look guys, isn't it adorable?" Came Shawn's hushed snickering voice. "It looks like my aunt Lucy's Patronus. I'd always thought you'd have a butterfly, though, Johnston." The giggling was more generalized this time. "Can you match that, Ledger?"

Noah closed his hands into tight fists, sinking his nails into the skin until it hurt, but kept his mouth firmly shut. He looked pointedly at the window, hoping someone else made an attempt at a Patronus and Professor Flitwick would forget he was there.

* * *

**Anger coursed through Josiah at such a speed that he couldn't grit his teeth to stop it. He turned around, smiling deceptively. His heart was hammering in his chest.**

**"I'd make a few clever quips about yours, too, if I'd ever seen it," he said with mock-sweetness. "Unless your spirit animal is, indeed, a non-corporeal blob of white smoke."**

**He felt the tension in the room ratchet up several notches, and he grabbed the edges of his chair so hard that his fingertips turned white.**

* * *

Shawn flushed at Jo's response. He gave the Ravenclaw boy a heated glare, but said nothing else.

Noah, in turn, rested a slightly shaky hand on Jo's arm. "Don't…" He whispered tensely. "He's just trying to…" he trailed off, then shook his head. He knew exactly what Shawn was doing. "I'm sorry you have to go through this because of me."

He looked around. Apparently, everyone was waiting for him to make his attempt. Screw it! It wasn't like he was going to make it anyway, so he might as well get it over with.

He was feeling a lot of things, but happiness wasn't one of them. Therefore, finding a happy memory was proving to be very difficult. Shrugging, he murmured, "Expecto Patronum!"

There was a long moment when nothing happened, then what seemed like white vapor puffed out of his wand. "Brilliant," he groaned.

* * *

**Josiah watched the white vapor curl into the air and disappear, and then looked around the room again, as though daring someone to laugh.**

**"It's not a big deal," he said stiffly, although his chest was still flushed with anger. He recovered a bit, his features softening. "This is hardly a welcoming environment in which to produce a Patronus; that doesn't mean you can't make one."**

**He held up his wand again, giving an example of the twitchy wrist motion that was required to cast the spell effectively. Then, he leaned over and whispered, so quietly that no one else could hear, "I suppose you remember our first time. That's what I was thinking about."**

* * *

Noah looked at Jo with wide eyes, then glanced around nervously. Slowly, more students were starting to make their first attempts at the spell.

Shawn was still looking at them every now and then, but he seemed to have stopped for the time being, after Jo's retort. Besides, Noah decided, if his sentence had been determined already, he might as well stop worrying so much about it. What was done, was done. The story would be out, either way; whatever came after, he couldn't begin to guess, or even change, at the moment. So why should he submit to Shawn's psychological torture any longer?

He looked back at Jo - his heart skipped a beat -, with only the hint of a smirk. "I'm glad I'm a source of happy memories," he whispered back. Taking a deep breath, he looked at a vague spot ahead of him. It wasn't their first time he was thinking of, but those hours on the road as he left Jo's house; in those precious hours he'd felt happier in his own skin and more free than he had been in a long, long time.

Something flickered in his chest. He tried to repeat Jo's wrist motion, even though his movements weren't nearly as elegant. "Expecto Patronum!"

The white smoke leaving his wand was much thicker this time, and for a glorious moment Noah saw something that looked a lot like wings. He jumped out of his seat, so excited he lost focus and the shape disappeared. "Bloody hell, did you see that?!"

* * *

**"Excellent, Mr. Ledger! Five points to Gryffindor."**

**Josiah beamed at Noah, feeling vindicated.**

**"That was nearly corporeal!" He whispered proudly, as the majority of the classroom turned to see what the fuss had been about. "If we find some time to practice outside of class, I'm sure you'll be able to see what it is."**

**He wondered exactly what Noah had thought about, but he bit his bottom lip and decided to just let the moment settle between them.**

**Then, for good measure, he took a moment to look back at Shawn, smirking ever-so-slightly.**

* * *

Noah grinned brightly at Professor Flitwick. "Awesome!"

He settled back on his chair, twirling his wand between his fingers smugly. He waited until the spotlight was off of them once more to lean onto Jo. "Or maybe I just need some help creating more good memories," he murmured, giving Jo a teasing wink.

He forced himself to not look at Shawn until the class was over. He didn't want that bubble of enjoyment to go away.

"Hum, Jo…" He said tentatively, when the class was over. "I know you have detention later today, but…" He glanced over at the rest of his team. "Would you like to meet me on the Quidditch pitch, after practice, if you're done with detention? I mean, only if you have time, of course…"

* * *

**Josiah grinned easily for the first time all day, using his wand to detach the straps of his schoolbag from the table. He slung it over his shoulder.**

**"I'll try," he murmured with a smile, adjusting his bag with care. "You know how strict McGonagall can be. Is 5:30 okay?"**

* * *

"Yes, that's perfect," Noah rubbed his neck awkwardly. "You can wait until the others leave. I usually stay a while longer, because I think Beaters need a more physical training component the others don't."

Another skill he'd developed over the years practicing with Shawn, was becoming more observant. He couldn't deny Shawn's ability to focus on the right details, and he'd taught Noah a few things about that.

So, when he saw Shawn crossing the door and slid to the side so he was hidden from view, he quietly pulled Jo behind him and left the classroom first, positioning himself between the two boys, so that only Shawn could see the wand he held so closely aimed at the Seeker, there was no mistaking Noah's intention.

"Just try something," he challenged in a low voice. Shawn glared at him, but decided it wasn't worth the trouble, and grudgingly walked away.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah trudged down several flights of stairs and into the front hall, slipping out of the large door and closing it behind him.**

**It was nearly dark already, which meant it was probably at least a few minutes past 5:30. It was also damn cold, and Jo pulled his coat closer to his body and wrapped it once over.**

**The Quidditch pitch had never seemed so far away, and when he arrived there, he was breathing shallowly in the cold; all he could hope was that Noah had a plan to warm him up properly.**

**He grinned softly to himself.**

* * *

They'd been out on the pitch, with freezing wind which always got worse when they flew above the seats balconies, for the last two hours and they'd achieved nothing.

Shawn simply refused to listen to him or do anything he said, which in turn divided and distracted the rest of the team. It had become obvious for every Gryffindor that 'best mates Shawn and Noah' weren't looking at each other straight, but Shawn was making his damn best to turn them all against their Captain.

"Alright, everyone, one last time, and we'll call it a day," he said, trying and failing miserably to keep the frustration out of his voice, hoping against all hope that they'd get that exercise right at least once.

"To hell with that," Shawn shouted from the other end of the pitch. "I'm out of here." He started flying down to the ground.

The others looked at Noah, shocked and curious to see what he would do. It was the final straw. Noah sped to the ground, pissed off, hopping out of his broom to land with a muffled thud on the grass. He barely paused, just strode towards Shawn who was almost reaching the locker room, the anger that had been building up since the day before threatening to overflow.

"May I know what the hell is your problem? Are you sabotaging the team on purpose or are you just a bigger idiot than I thought?"

Shawn turned to look at him, throwing his broom violently to the ground.

"My problem is you!" He snapped back. He took a step towards Noah, and poked a finger against his chest. "You could have any girl you wanted, they were all there at your feet! No stress, no problems for the team or our future. But you just decided to throw it all to the garbage! All that's missing now is you parading around in public kissing that cheap version of the Fat Lady-"

Noah had closed his eyes, his fists clenched tightly as he tried so very hard to control himself, but in that moment, with _those_ words, the self control switch turned off. Completely blinded by his fury, he lunged at the boy that had once been his best friend.

Shawn wasn't as tall or bulky as Noah, but he was agile and strong for his size; he also knew Noah very well, he knew how he moved. Besides, he'd been poking him into this, so he was prepared. He slipped out of Noah's reach.

But Noah was far past the point of no return now, and he was determined to turn his face into a pulp, if that was what it took to make him stop treating Jo that way. They could do to him whatever they wanted, but they wouldn't touch Jo. Not again!

The fight was confusing at first, but Noah quickly pinned Shawn to the ground, getting the upper hand in the fight. As he pulled his fist back again, a pair of hands grabbed it before he could finish what he'd started.

Shawn took advantage of his restricted movements to punch him again, trying to release himself. Noah swore, trying to release himself, but more hands – the rest of his team, he slowly realized – grabbed his robes and arms, pulling him off of Shawn's bloody face. Someone was talking to him, but he couldn't make sense of the words.

They took Shawn away to the locker room; Noah pulled away from them and walked away alone, back into the center of the field.

* * *

**Jo was startled by a commotion that was way too close for comfort, and he crept as quickly as possible to the side of the locker room building and looked around its corner.**

**"Noah?" he murmured, after he was certain everything was safe. He squinted at the figure in the shadows for at least thirty seconds before deducing that it was, in fact, his love interest.**

**He rushed over to the other boy, his brow furrowed with concern.**

**"What happened to you?" He murmured, barely a whisper. He whipped his wand out of his pocket and murmured something unintelligible; the tip of his wand glowed a warm purple, and he dabbed the light gently over Noah's broken lip. The blood began to immediately clot and scab over, the edges already hardening as though several days had gone by.**

* * *

Noah sat alone on the cold grass, hugging his knees. The others were gone, he didn't know where to; probably the Hospital Wing. He didn't know if he was shaking due to the cold or the intensity of his feelings. He closed his hands on the fabric of his pants when he heard Jo's voice, hoping he wouldn't notice the shaking, looking away as Jo worked on his lip, not daring to look him in the eyes.

He'd fought Shawn out of rage, but also out of fear. Sports in general, and Quidditch in particular had taught him discipline, had given him an outlet to his excessive energy and adrenaline on something that was safe and socially accepted. Now that was going to be taken away from him.

He wasn't sure he could control that uglier side of him without that discipline; he wasn't sure how Jo would react to that side of him, but it scared him that he might walk away because of it.

His eyes stung and he blinked hard. "I'm sorry… I lost it…"

* * *

**Jo finished his work on Noah's lip; it was a bit red, but otherwise healed over. A shiny, fresh patch of skin had emerged over the cut. Satisfied, Jo shook the Charm out of his wand and turned his attention to Noah's eye and, by extension, the look of helplessness on his face. It made him want to cry.**

**"Don't," he whispered consolingly. He kissed the top of Noah's forehead. "Just hold still. Let me look at your eye."**

**There was no good way to avoid bruising, but he could at least take care of the tiny cuts around the eye socket and use a mild Freezing Charm to abate the swelling.**

**"What happened? Did he hex you?" The look on Josiah's face at this question was so dark that he rather scared himself. He found that he was more than willing to track down the already-beaten Seeker and give him a few more good whacks.**

* * *

Noah started to shake his head, but stopped before Jo's wand poked his eye on accident. "No. We argued and then…" he looked down at his hands. "He said-" He looked up at Jo. "I hurt him, Jo. Badly. If they hadn't stopped me…"

His voice faded into a whisper as the words poured out, telling Jo what he had never intended to share with anyone. "I used to get in trouble a lot when I was younger, fighting with other kids, being mean to people…" He admitted. "Even before I knew how to control my magic, I'd use it to test the limits. And then mom got me into sports. All sorts of sports. That helped. And then I started playing Quidditch and I finally found somewhere I belonged, something I was good at without hurting anyone else…" He gave Jo a pleading look. "I don't want to be the bully everyone's afraid of. Not anymore."

* * *

**"He'll be fine," Josiah said in a bitter tone of voice that might have been regret. "Madam Pomfrey was the best Healer in her class. She could practically bring someone back from the dead." His eyes flicked down at Noah's pitiful expression, and he sighed. "Not that you've killed him, obviously."**

**He stuffed his wand away and put both of his magically-warmed hands on the side of Noah's face.**

**"None of this was your fault. I – I didn't even think about how anyone else would react if they found out." He gave a guilty, apologetic half-smile. "You aren't responsible for what Shawn thinks of you. Nobody would deny that he's been asking for a fist in his face for days."**

**He rubbed the other boy's temple gently as he confessed, sighing out a puff of vapor into the cold falling night.**

**"We're wizards, Noah. Testing our limits is part of realizing our power. It's like teething." He paused, searching Noah's eyes with concern. "I don't believe you're that kind of person. If you were, you wouldn't feel guilty right now."**

**He stood again, brushing some finely ground pitch-dirt from the knees of his uniform slacks. He offered the other boy his hand.**

**"But if you're trying to test the limits of your cold tolerance, I'm afraid you'll have to do it on your own. I'm going inside."**

* * *

Noah wasn't sure how to react to acceptance; he was so relieved, he didn't know what to say. He realized that most of his concern had been about what Jo would think of him. With the reassurance that he wouldn't lose him, he could breathe more easily.

He took Jo's comfortingly warm hand, stood up and slipped his arms around him, pulling him closer for a kiss that said '_thank you_' better than he ever could vocally.

"Sorry, I'm used to the cold, so I guess I don't think about it much…" He said sheepishly. He searched Jo's eyes. "I just… I'd promised you a flying lesson, and I don't know if I'll be allowed in the pitch for much longer, not after McGonagall finds out about what I did." His ears warmed up; it had been a silly idea, anyway. "I wanted to make the most of my last few days here…"

* * *

**Jo broke away from the kiss with butterflies, and his eyes flickered open while a smile graced his lips.**

**"And here everyone thinks I'm the well-insulated one," he said dryly, giggling. He looked over the look of poorly-hidden excitement on Noah's face, and he sighed a little. He'd already had such a hard night; it would be awful to disappoint him. And it was rather romantic, after all.**

**"No corkscrews," he warned in a serious tone. "Or barrel rolls, or… sudden elaborate dives. Alright? Promise?"**

* * *

Noah cleared his throat, trying to keep a straight face. It proved to be very difficult. He nodded solemnly, but frowned a bit at Jo. "Define elaborate dives…" he said teasingly. He kissed Jo's frowning forehead and a chuckle slipped out. "I won't do anything that gets you hurt, I promise," he said still looking solemn, deflecting the boy's specificity as best he could.

He took Jo's hand again, guiding him to the locker room. "Come, we have extra equipments and they keep you warmer than regular school robes do."

The locker room was completely empty. Noah searched a trunk with Gryffindor's symbol embedded, touched it with the tip of his wand to unlock it, and opened it, searching its contents. "I only have scarlet and gold ones, though, I hope you don't mind…"

He took out a full set of winter robes and handed them to Jo, before turning to a locked cabinet that had spare training broomsticks. "I talked with McGonagall a couple of years ago, and she helped me hex a couple of brooms to link them together." He took a couple of battered looking Cleansweeps out and closed the cabinet with his elbow. "That way, whatever one does, the other does as well. It was very helpful when training rookies."

* * *

**Josiah took the robe gingerly, sniffing it in a delicate manner. It didn't smell nearly as offensive as he had thought it would. He shed his school robe, then slipped it on over his uniform.**

**The broom, however, was going to get a closer inspection. He held it at arm's length first; it was heavier than he had anticipated, and this made him suspicious. He looked it up and down before giving Noah a politely skeptical look.**

**"You know, I was almost in the bottom of our class in First Year Flying," he murmured, fastening the robe buttons with one hand.**

* * *

Noah looked at Jo, amused and delighted with the sight in front of him. Did he have any idea how cute and delicious he looked right now?

He grinned at Jo's observation. "Well, I was top in that class," he said smugly. He tossed his own broomstick over his shoulder and reached out a hand to Jo. "Do you trust me?"

* * *

**Josiah adjusted the robe, which was a little snug around his arms and middle, and turned his wide, innocent hazel eyes to Noah's face. He bit his lip very slightly, sighing. He was very handsome; it was hard to tell him no.**

**"Yes, of course I trust you," he replied. "Which means you're about to scare the pants off me, doesn't it?"**


	16. Expecto Patronum

**Chapter 16 - Expecto Patronum**

Noah left the locker room without replying to Jo, although the amused smirk lingered on his face. Powerful lights magically lit up as the two boys dressed in Quidditch robes stepped out onto the grass once more, brooms hanging over their shoulders. Noah stopped in the center of the field, passed a leg over his broom and looked at Jo expectantly.

* * *

**Jo followed him onto the pitch, blinking into the absurdly bright lights.**

**"I don't suppose there's a dimmer switch," he quipped, looking over at the other boy. "Might make it a bit more romantic." He grinned, hitching a leg over his borrowed broomstick with some effort. He tried different patterns with his hands, trying to find the most secure grip he could manage. He had never been so painfully aware of how thin a broomstick was.**

* * *

"If there is one, no one told me," Noah said lightly, happier than he'd felt all day.

He studied Jo. "Here, try it like this," he said, showing Jo how he positioned his hands. "Your dominant hand in front of the other. And remember, having no blood flow in your fingers won't help at all, so you don't hold it too tightly. You'll find your balance after a few moments in the air."

He waited to make sure Jo followed his instructions, then pushed his broom off the ground, only a few inches. He fixed his gaze back on Josiah.

* * *

**Josiah studied the other boy's hand placement, then dutifully put his right hand first on the broomstick and released his iron grip on the handle. He looked up for approval, looking uncertain. He thought that it was highly unlikely that he would find his balance after 'a few moments.' A few years, maybe.**

**He took a deep breath, puffing his cheeks out before pushing off of the ground with such hesitation that he was hardly sure it would work. He hovered about two inches off of the grass, looking down at his idly swinging feet.**

**It was not his favorite sensation, to be sure.**

* * *

Noah nodded, but waited patiently; Jo looked unsure still.

"Ready?" He asked as he took his wand from the folds of his robes and, with intense concentration, tapped both of the brooms in turn, murmuring a few words. "I'll show you how to do the basic movements first, then you'll try to repeat every movement by yourself."

Noah raised his broom further; Jo's broom followed immediately. Then, patiently, Noah showed Josiah how to maneuver a broomstick. He showed him out to steer without losing balance, how to brake, how to move forward, how to rise and fall. It wasn't very different than riding a bike, but he decided it was best not to mention bikes at the moment.

When he finally stopped, their brooms hovering ten feet above the ground, he looked at Jo solemnly. "Alright, it's your turn. Do you have any questions you want to ask first?"

* * *

**"Was that a Protean Charm?" Jo called over, slightly impressed. He wasn't impressed for long, though, because he was soon busy trying not to look down too much.**

**"Um," he murmured in a small voice, trying to think of a question. "How do you do this so often?" It slipped out before he could think about it too hard. "I'm slightly terrified."**

**He looked up at Noah and offered a shaky smile.**

* * *

Noah offered a grinning nod. "Why the surprise?" He asked teasingly, pretending to be offended. "I can be really good at something… if I really want to." That and McGonagall's face when he kept failing at it over and over again made him all the more determined to get it right.

He turned his face to the cold wind and took a deep breath. "It grows on you. The wind on your face – although not always this cold –, the rush that comes with the speed…" He said quietly. He looked around at the hundreds of empty seats and his heart ached. "The roar of the crowd when you impress them, or when you just barely succeed in a move; when you win… it's addictive."

He huffed out a sigh, shook his head and looked back at Jo. "Don't think you can distract me; it's your turn. Come on, I know you can do it," he cheered.

* * *

**"Oh, I don't doubt that," Josiah replied, smirking a little in return.**

**He sighed, looking down at the handle so intently that his eyes nearly crossed. He was trying not to grip the handle quite so tightly, but he definitely wasn't going to let go.**

**He leaned forward very gently on the broomstick, which responded so quickly that it surprised him, and he jerked upward. This caused the broom to fly higher, and he leaned back down again, easing into a small dive that was altogether faster than he'd planned.**

**"Merlin's pants Merlin's pants Merlin's pants Merlin's pants!" He murmured in such a hurry that they didn't even sound like words anymore. "Noah, what do I do?!"**

* * *

Noah's broom mimicked Jo's sudden movements. He couldn't help but chuckle as he regained control of the brooms, stabilizing them once more. "Alright, alright," he said comfortingly. "It's alright. Not too bad for a first attempt. Honestly, I couldn't brake at all, the first time I flew."

He waited until Jo calmed down a little, then flew closer and reached out to Jo's broom, at his side, covering the Ravenclaw's hand with his own. "Like this," he said, and his fingers pressed Jo's and the broom under them just barely, making them move slowly forward. "Like a gentle caress, if you want to drift forward, or a firm push if you're in a hurry." He gave a small smile before letting go. "Try again."

* * *

**Josiah's heart was hammering against his chest, but he couldn't tell if it was because of the sudden broom movement or the way Noah corrected his hands and said 'gentle caress.'**

**He used a minimum amount of pressure to push on the front of the broomstick, and he and Noah both glided easily forward. He took a deep, shaky breath.**

**"So what's next?" He asked grimly.**

* * *

Noah applauded, grinning. "Well done!" He studied Jo's face, wondering why he was so flustered. Then, realizing he was getting far too distracted for his own good, he shook himself mentally.

"Every movement follows the same principle." With a slow, wide movement, he gestured to the pitch around them. "The sky is the limit. Take us for a ride."

* * *

**Josiah wasn't sure whether he wanted to giggle or cry; he had never heard of flying lessons being foreplay, but he was feeling much more vulnerable now than he had been when they began, and it had nothing to do with the height. He gathered up enough courage to swing his feet.**

**He gave Noah an uncertain look, then leaned forward again, gliding a few meters towards the far end of the pitch. He stopped a bit jerkily, his brow furrowed in concentration, and he made a wide, slightly swerving turn.**

**The air was bitterly cold, and his nose was a bit numb, but the wind rippling through his hair admittedly felt nice. He did another lap, gradually speeding up, before pulling his broomstick up in front of the Ravenclaw stands. He craned his neck around to look at Noah.**

**"I love you!" He called over the distance, grinning a little. "This is really kind of fun!"**

* * *

Noah had been prepared to stop Jo's movements if he lost control, but when the Ravenclaw relaxed enough to enjoy it, he did pretty well for a first timer.

His broom caught up with Jo's a moment after he stopped moving. He brought their brooms as close as he could, then leaned to the side and kissed him lightly. "Outstanding," he graded, smirking.

He looked at Jo's face thoughtfully. It was a risky move, but Jo seemed like he was starting to enjoy himself. Noah simply couldn't resist it.

"Now it's my turn," he whispered, winking. He tapped his wand on Jo's hands, so the Ravenclaw's broomstick would mirror his own movements. "Don't let go," he warned before taking off.

He started with a simple lap around the pitch, increasing the speed progressively.

"There goes Johnston, Ravenclaw's new Chaser!" He raised his voice above the whistling of the wind in their ears, as if he was a Quidditch commentator.

He glanced over at Jo, grinning, and sped. He attempted a couple simple maneuvers, all the while keeping an eye on ther other boy. "They take off, avoiding Slytherin Chaser's attempt at stealing the Quaffle with an impressive move. Oh, there's a Bludger coming, but…" He made them dive suddenly, just enough to make the other boy's stomach give a little jump, "Amazing, they dodged it! Impressive moves by Johnston and Ledger." They approached the rings at the end of the field very quickly now. "Johnston has the Quaffle; he faces Slytherin's Keeper; he throws it…" He made them rise just in front of the rings, and then turned left; Jo's broom went to the right. "JOHNSTON SCORES!" He shouted, slowing their brooms down smoothly, settling to a slow, easy drift along and down the sides of the field, near the stands.

"Look at the crowd!" He continued, grinning at Jo, one hand behind his ear as if to better listen. He wondered if he'd be smacked for that little stunt. "Look how they cheer: Johnston! Johnston!"

* * *

**Josiah blinked, wide-eyed, and had only a few moments to react properly before Noah began moving again. He gave an involuntary squeak, pressing his lips together so hard they went numb.**

**His heart had barely had time to stop pounding when he heard Noah's voice, and he couldn't suppress a giggle. He bowed his head slightly, his hair flying everywhere; the warmth of his embarrassment was a decent buffer from the cold wind.**

**He hadn't been prepared for the sudden side movements or the dive, and he shut his eyes so tightly he saw stars. He realized after the fact that he had been holding his breath, and he released it in one large, overwhelmed sigh. He felt like all of his organs were five centimeters too high.**

**All attempts at not gripping the broom too hard were long since abandoned, and Josiah's knuckles were cold and white as they neared the ground. Somehow Jo had managed to find himself short of breath, probably because he'd been holding it so long.**

**Also, he couldn't stop giggling.**

**"You are so… I can't believe…" he trailed off, unable to form a complete sentence. "You are in so much trouble! Come here right now! Put us down, Noah Ledger."**

* * *

Noah laughed heartily with Jo's reaction. He continued the slow descent until they both reached the ground level near the center of the pitch. His heart was still on the clouds when their feet touched the ground. He dropped his broom and brushed Jo's wind-ruffled hair back gently.

"What I am is a giant fool, because it took me so long to realize how lucky I was to have someone like you looking my way, believing I was worth anything outside of this field; because I was such a coward I couldn't admit my feelings, not even to myself."

He kissed Jo again, until they were both breathless. "I love you, Josiah. I don't want you to be my secret anymore. I don't care how much it costs."

* * *

**The lighthearted grin slowly faded from Josiah's face, and he looked up at Noah with such deep, meaningful love that it made his eyes water. He gave his boyfriend a quivering smile.**

**"I love you too, Noah," he whispered, sniffling a bit from the cold and his suddenly overwhelming state of emotion. "I wish there was some charm that I could use to protect you from idiots and bigotry. I'm so sorry." He ran a hand against the side of Noah's face, where his eye was still a bit bruised, and the tears rimming his eyes threatened to spill over.**

**He leaned forward into Noah's shoulder, closing his eyes and relishing the moment.**

**"Thanks for the lesson," he whispered.**

* * *

Noah held Jo close for a long time, not willing to let go. But it was getting so late, it wouldn't take long before someone came outside to see why the lights were still on on the pitch.

"I'll be fine," he said quietly.

He looked around with a mix of happiness and nostalgia. He didn't know what would happen now, but he didn't believe McGonagall would let the beating go unpunished. Besides, when his teammates found out the reason for it, they'd probably vote him off of the team. Still, he didn't regret his decision. He'd just have to figure out how get over Quidditch… somehow.

"You're welcome," he said, picking up the abandoned brooms and heading to the locker room to get changed. "Maybe I'll start practicing for Quadpot," he said lightly, even though his heart ached. "Or for the Annual Broom Race in the dragon reservations. It would be like the final big achievement of my life," he teased.

* * *

**"Don't say things like that," Josiah said reproachfully, tagging along behind Noah. He began unbuttoning the snaps on the Quidditch coat, looking stern. "They can't just kick you out. There isn't anyone to replace you; McGonagall would never kick you out if it meant losing the Cup. If she cared that much about discipline, Potter never would have even made the team." He was relatively sure about this. He had spent an entire year as Prefect with James Potter as Head Boy, and sometimes he'd wondered how he hadn't been expelled yet.**

**He shed the coat, which landed with a thick rustle on the floor. He picked up his school robe, Prefect badge still gleaming proudly on its front, and shrugged into it. His middle was much happier for the change, but Noah was right; the Quidditch robes were a lot thicker.**

**"I'm glad... I'm really glad that our relationship isn't a secret anymore," he said after a moment. "But I don't want you to just give up on your dreams like that, either. I'm not going to sit here and watch you suffer."**

* * *

Noah chuckled. "You're right. But every Gryffindor loved him. There would've been a mutiny if he'd been expelled. That might've been equally truth for me until a few days ago, but not anymore."

He started shedding his own robes. He was really looking forward to have a warm shower, but it would have to wait until they got back to the castle. If they took too long, they might not get to the Great Hall in time for dinner. And he was also starving. He found his clothes and slipped back into his trousers.

He stopped while buckling his belt and raised his eyes to give Jo an unsure look at his words. "And how do you suggest we do that?"

* * *

**Josiah frowned at his question, straightening his badge meticulously. His eyes lingered on Noah's belt buckle, and he sighed. He couldn't get distracted.**

**"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'll think about it. Oh, and after dinner, you owe me a nice long soak in the Prefect's bath." He smirked, smoothing down his wind-wrecked wavy hair.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah was used to being in the spotlight. He was aware of how important it was for his future in Quidditch to be well known and have his skills praised. So, even though he had never really enjoyed most of the… _perks_ of being popular, he'd done his best to nurture that status and rebuild his reputation in Hogwarts – other than being 'the mindless bully'. Besides, he was a natural leader and a very active person.

As a result, despite being an only child, he had never been alone for long periods of time. He made friends fairly easily. Practically since his first day in Hogwarts, he was always surrounded by people, whether it was just a group of fans trying to get his attention after he'd joined the Quidditch team, or his boisterous group of friends.

Today, as he left the 7th year boys' dorm, the silence that suddenly filled the common room was deafening. His Captain badge was heavy on his chest, over his heart. His eye was still a very noticeable shade of purple, but the swelling was mostly gone, thanks to Jo. Shawn hadn't returned from the Hospital Wing last night but, as it always happened in Hogwarts, everyone already knew _some _version of what had happened, and why.

He stood by the door for a few moments, his hand tightly closed around the straps of his schoolbag as he looked around. Some of students looked away, others turned to comment something with their friends, but no one said a word to him, or offered him more than either a curious or hostile glance. He walked out of the common room, trying not to think about it. Except it got worse the moment he joined the growing crowd in the corridors. By the time he got to the Great Hall, his nerves were so frayed, he couldn't tell what he'd do if someone did address him. His eyes swept the Hall until he found the rest of his team – except Shawn, who was still nowhere in sight – gathered up at the end of Gryffindor's long table. They were all leaning into a close group, discussing something heatedly.

Swallowing hard, he told himself he was still their Captain and walked towards them, slowly but resolutely; if nothing else, he'd find out who was with him and who was against him.

Stevens, the other Beater, saw him first and hushed the others. There was an awfully long moment of silence when all heads turned to Noah; then they looked away and started to leave, the Keeper, Holt, and Stevens first. After a few more tense seconds, the others got up, mumbling some excuse and left too.

Noah looked pointedly at the ground, his expression hardening. He'd lost his team. Rejection had a bitter taste.

"Are you going to eat something or just stand there trying to grow roots?" Asked a usually snarky, lively voice, except it also sounded annoyed this time. Noah's heart skipped a painful, hopeful beat when he looked up to meet Anna's eyes, but he still looked somber when he sat in front of her.

He'd been assigned with Anna's flying training when she joined the Quidditch team a couple years earlier. She'd looked very promising, but lacked some of the necessary flying skills to be a Chaser. They'd become good friends ever since.

Anna was a sixth year student. She had dark brown hair and eyes. She was an easy going girl, extremely determined and as devoted to the team as he was; which was probably why she was looking at him with a mix of annoyance and sympathy as he filled his plate.

"How is he?" Noah asked after a while, picking at the eggs and bacon with his fork.

Anna huffed out a snort. "He spent the night in the Hospital Wing. He looked like he'd been attacked by…" She saw Noah's expression and stopped herself. "Why did you do that to him, Noah?"

* * *

**Josiah was trying to walk with relative dignity, Prefect badge gleaming on his chest as he walked through the corridors on his way to breakfast. People were definitely staring; news had gotten around somehow, but it was garbled like it had been passed along over a bad Muggle telephone connection (he kept that analogy to himself). All they knew was that he was somehow involved, and as he walked into the Great Hall, several pairs of Gryffindor eyes settled on him critically, silently blaming him for the impending destruction of their Quidditch team.**

**He sniffed in what he hoped was an infuriatingly nonchalant manner. This was not his first rodeo. When he had been dating Ray Twiddle, the Hufflepuff Prefect who'd graduated last year, rumors had flown around so fast that he could scarcely keep up with what everyone else thought he was doing in one of Hogwarts' many broom cupboards. He had survived another year with his reputation somewhat intact.**

**He spotted Noah, who was sitting with one of his housemates in the center of a crater of empty bench spaces, and walked over to him with his head held high.**

**"I knew I should have hexed him harder," he mumbled, sitting backwards on the bench with his legs sticking into the aisle.**

* * *

Noah had looked up at Anna, a challenging, annoyed look in his eyes. "Haven't you heard yet? Every mop in this school seems to know already," he grumped, putting down his fork with a little too much noise.

"I want to hear your side," Anna said simply.

Noah saw Jo approaching then, the first pleasant sight he'd had that morning. He wasn't sure what he expected, but he tensed when Jo sat down, as if waiting for the crowd to attack them or something. When a few moments passed and nothing happened, he chanced a glance around. The comments and looks had definitely increased, but nothing else for the time being. He looked at Jo, trying to smile.

"It wouldn't have helped," he murmured. "He's incredibly hard-headed." Then he chanced a look at Anna. She was studying Jo with narrowed eyes and a curious look on her face, her fork pending over her breakfast.

"He is why." He told her simply.

Anna looked from him to Jo, then focused her gaze back on Noah, nodding. "Do you know how much trouble you're in, for what happened yesterday?" She stuck out her chin in the direction the rest of the team had disappeared. "They're determined to complain about you to McGonagall and make you leave."

Noah nodded grimly. "I figured. Will you join them?"

Anna sighed, looking back at her plate as if it contained all the answers in the universe. Then, she put the fork down, crossed her arms over the table and looked up at Noah.

"Look, Noah. I don't like what happened one bit. But I don't need to lecture you about it. I'm sure you know it already." She sighed and her expression softened. "But you're my friend. And I know that's not who you really are. So I ask you, is this," she gestured to the pair of them, "worth the fuss?"

* * *

**Josiah blinked as he was surveyed without so much as a hello, then crossed his ankles and grabbed a buttered roll off of the Gryffindor table. He usually made an effort to appear more prim, but something about being talked about made him want to be willfully rebellious.**

**"It might've helped me," he murmured, taking another large bite. He had a habit of eating more during times of great stress.**

**"Professor McGonagall has dealt with far, far worse. If they go to tell on you, she'll want to know exactly what happened - you know she never leaves out any details. Somehow I don't think 'he likes that Ravenclaw bloke and that makes me itchy' will pass for a decent excuse."**

* * *

Noah looked over Jo, momentarily distracted from his misery. He had never seen him this relaxed; actually, in public, he didn't remember seeing Jo like that at all.

"No, I don't think it will either," he agreed. "But it doesn't change the fact that I beat the crap out of my teammate. I'm team Captain, and we were in a practice. Whether he deserved it or not, I shouldn't have done that," he murmured.

He faced Anna, deciding that he owed her a proper response to her question, since she was willing to give him a chance to explain. "I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm ready to accept the consequences of that. But I don't regret anything else, Anna." He gave Jo a real smile this time, even if brief. "And yes, it is worth it."

Anna raised her eyebrows slightly then nodded, seeming satisfied. "Well, then… It doesn't please me that all this came out right before our game against Ravenclaw, but what can I do?" She shrugged, put down her fork and offered Jo a slightly wicked smile and her hand. "I'm Anna, which you obviously already noticed. Nice to meet you… Josiah, right?"

* * *

**Josiah straightened up a bit; being slack in front of other people wasn't a very big deal, but under Noah's gaze, he felt a little awkward. He didn't want him to think he didn't take the situation seriously.**

**"I know that," he said softly, polishing off the dinner roll. "But he coaxed a reaction out of you on purpose." He sighed, thinking back on everything he knew about their Transfiguration professor. Even in his most recent detention, she had always been a fair, relatively understanding woman. He didn't see any reason she would change that now.**

**Jo took Anna's hand with only the slightest trace of reluctance, smiling more shyly.**

**"Josiah Johnston," he articulated. "I'm the 7th year Ravenclaw Prefect. I've been to a lot of your games recently."**

**He noticed that the murmurs had grown stronger when he leaned closer to Noah, and he rolled his eyes reservedly.**

* * *

Anna smirked. "Well, at least we got a new fan." She brushed her hair behind her ears and picked up her bag.

"Look, Noah… if I had to choose, I'd rather keep you than Shawn, any day. Considering what he's been doing to you in the last few days and what I overheard of your argument, I think anyone would snap. And that's what I'll tell McGonagall, if she asks me. But you should be careful with the rest of them. Shawn has been talking to them _a lot_," she warned.

"Probably more than he talks to me, because he knows you're my favorite," she added playfully before standing up and planting a kiss on top of Noah's head. "I have to go, now. See you later!

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah arrived in the old Divination classroom at around 3 o'clock. It was a bit dusty, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with the flick of a wand; he cleared it up and looked out at the deceptively peaceful winter landscape through the scratched window.**

**He wasn't sure he'd call himself a good teacher. A tutor, maybe, all things considered, but he was altogether too lenient to be a real teacher.**

**He checked his watch again, bracing his arms against the nearest table and lifting himself onto it.**

**Dan and Ezra should arrive any moment. He'd also dropped Noah a note detailing where he'd be for the afternoon; he didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't deny that he was hoping his boyfriend would show up.**

* * *

Daniella looked at the time and muttered a curse under her breath. She'd gotten distracted. She took out the work gloves, washed her hands, recovered her bag that rested against Hagrid's cabin wall, and hurriedly waved at him before running back to the castle.

She'd never thought of the atmosphere in Slytherin's common room as particularly friendly, but the hostility from Sabrina and her little coven was worse than ever before. She couldn't shake off the feeling that the other girl was up to something. So, she made her best to spend as much time away from the dungeons as she could.

She was flustered and out of breath when she arrived at the dungeon to meet Ezra. "Pureblood," she muttered to the wall.

"Sorry I'm late," she managed to say when she saw him, still trying to catch her breath. "Are you ready? He's waiting."

* * *

**Ezra snapped his textbook shut with immense relief. He had been getting tired of pretending to read it.**

**"Thank Merlin," he murmured, sliding the book into his bag and easing it over his shoulder. "I expect she's been trying to cast a Killing Curse on me out of sheer non-verbal, wandless willpower."**

**He grabbed Daniella's hand, and there was a collective heaviness of shocked, seething rage. He pulled her through the opened space in the wall.**

**He sighed, inhaling deeply and trying to prepare himself for what was about to happen. It wasn't that he felt particularly threatened by Josiah; he had his own set of near-prodigious skills, and he could put up a fair fight in a duel.**

**He was loath to admit it, but something about having to be taught magic by a Muggleborn wizard still made his chest flush with embarrassment and anger… even if the Muggleborn wizard was undoubtedly more talented than he was.**

**"Let's get it over with," he murmured, trudging up the last set of stairs and through the door of the abandoned classroom.**

* * *

"Bloody hell, I really wish we could request rooms elsewhere in the castle," Daniella murmured, when the wall closed behind her once more. "It's a pretty big castle after all."

She glanced at Ezra, then decided it was best not to push him. Clearly, he wasn't in the best mood today.

She grabbed on to the hope that this opportunity to share knowledge with each other would help Ezra see Jo in a different light and maybe, with time, see Muggleborn wizards differently as well. But, right now, that was really all she could hold on to: sheer hope.

Ezra opened the door and she immediately saw Jo waiting. She entered the room, grinning as she pulled him into a quick hug. "Sorry we're late. Hagrid was telling me a story about a Manticore and…" she shook her head, dismissing the thought, and looked at him intently; like every other soul in that school, she'd heard the rumors as well. "Anyway, how are you?"

* * *

**Josiah stifled a yawn, turning abruptly as he heard footsteps enter the classroom. He straightened up immediately in an attempt to look alert; he didn't want to admit it, but the rumors had been causing him to get a little less sleep than usual.**

**"Aye, I'm fine," he lied, squeezing her gently. "I just hope that's not what your Patronus is." He grinned dryly, then looked around the room. He didn't say hello to Ezra, and Ezra didn't say hello to him; they stared at each other for a brief moment before looking away.**

**Noah was nowhere to be found.**

**"Anyway, we can start if you like." He cleared his throat. "Um, we should probably just work on casting a corporeal Patronus first."**

* * *

"Wouldn't it be scary, though?" She asked teasingly, pretending not to notice the tension in the room. She took her wand out of her pocket and dropped her bag next to the table. "Sure. I could use recognizing my own Patronus…" she said sheepishly.

Before she could continue, the door burst open again. She turned on her heels and pointed her wand at the door, startled. Had Sabrina followed them?

Noah stood by the doorframe, looking a little surprised. His expression hardened as he recognized the two Slytherins, and then noticed the wand aimed at him. "You," he said in a low, threatening voice, his eyes flicking between the wand and the boy. He reached for his own wand.

* * *

**"He's supposed to be here," Josiah murmured, casting a sideways glance at Noah. "And if anybody throws a hex tonight, you can learn to cast a proper Patronus on your own, and see if I care." He folded his legs on the table, trying to find some measure of dignity. They had come to learn from him, after all.**

**He felt a little guilty for snapping at them, and he sighed.**

**"I know you guys already know this, but you need a properly happy memory to cast a Patronus. Not a moderately happy memory; an actually, really, truly happy one." He held his wand out, poised to cast. "But more than that, you also have to will your Patronus to appear. That's how it takes form. Expecto Patronum!"**

**The lightly spotted harp seal exploded from the tip of Jo's crooked wand, did a backflip that was deceptively graceful for its size, and then hovered over the group.**

**"It doesn't mean you have to be happy when you cast the spell. It means you have to know that you've been happy before; you have to be able to call that memory back in a split second, no matter how crummy you feel. You've been happy before, and you'll be happy again. That's what a Patronus is; the personification of your hope."**

* * *

Daniella lowered her own wand, her heart still clogged in her throat. She saw Noah glance uncertainly at Jo, then throw Ezra one last suspicious glance before relaxing and easing into the room. He positioned himself between the other two boys.

Now that Jo had succeeded in avoiding a duel, she took the time to look at the two of them. To see the way Noah looked at Jo. She smiled warmly as she got her suspicions confirmed, but didn't interrupt Jo, making her best to focus on what he was saying. They stretched their necks to follow the harp seal around. He made it look easy; made it sound kind of easy too.

She didn't have to think for a long time to find a happy memory. She'd been the happiest in Stonehaven, whenever she went to visit Jo and his family. She thought of the first time she'd stayed over and shared the first meal with all of them. The way they'd made her feel like she was part of the family. The memory brought a dreamy smile to her lips.

"Well, I think we've gathered the perfect conditions, then," she said with sarcasm at his last observation, looking around at how tense the atmosphere was still. She could bet all of them were feeling at least a little crummy at the moment. "I'll go first." She raised her wand, a wrinkle of concentration between her eyebrows, and cleared her throat. "Expecto Patronum!"

A long… elongated, tubular form… of white, bright smoke sipped out of her wand. She squinted at it; with a lot of imagination, she could see ears and paws on it, but then it was gone. "Ah, seriously?"

She wrinkled her nose, then said. "Wait, let me try again. Happy," she said with an expression that looked anything but happy. She took a deep breath, glanced at Jo to better recall the memory, made the hand motion slowly and repeated clearly, "Expecto Patronum!"

Something flickered momentarily on the tip of her wand and then a small shape with a long torso showed up. "Ooooh, I got it! It's… it's…" She squinted at it, as it made a wobbly movement forward and then faded. She looked at Jo, grinning. "I think it was an ermine!"

* * *

**"It definitely had whiskers," Jo said with a grin, shooting a shower of congratulatory golden sparks over Dan's head. "That was really good; keep trying." He looked at the other two expectantly, smiling tentatively.**

**"It's really not that hard," he assured them. "Like I said, you don't have to BE happy. Just remember that you've BEEN happy."**

**Ezra gave a near-silent snort at this, looking down at his wand with contempt. Maybe the other boy had had a happy life, but for Ezra, thinking about his past was an exercise in masochism.**

**"Expecto Patronum," he said expectantly, and a silvery puff of smoke left his wand in a hurry, spreading into a shape that was triangular on either side. He sighed.**

**"Your happiest memory," Jo urged, biting a stray fingernail.**

* * *

Daniella chuckled at the sparks, flushing with pride. She waited to see Ezra's attempt, biting her lip at the look on his face.

She slipped a hand behind him, resting it on the small of his back. "Take your time; you can do it," she murmured encouragingly.

Noah, on the other hand, had decided to wait until the Slytherin boy was distracted for him to make his own attempt. Seriously, what was Jo thinking? Hanging out in abandoned classrooms with Slytherins? He huffed out a breath, pulled away from the wall, unfolded his arms and made his attempt. He knew which memory to use already; he just needed to work on staying focused.

"Expecto Patronum," he pronounced, and once more he saw the long wings he'd seen in Charms class. But he couldn't feel comfortable with those two in there. The rest of the body remained unclear and, after a desperate flap, the wings faded.

He pressed his lips together. At least Greengrass hadn't done it right either.

* * *

**Josiah grimaced a bit at the sudden tension in the room, sighing and placing both feet on the floor with determination.**

**"Alright, everyone be still," he murmured, flourishing his wand. He made a wide, sweeping gesture, and a fine, pink dust came sparkling out of his wand. It was a wide-range Cheering Charm.**

**"Try again?" He said hopefully, after the powder-like light had settled.**

* * *

Noah relaxed as the tension left his body; he gave Jo a questioning look. "You really like that Charm, don't you?" He asked teasingly, recognizing the feel of it.

Even though he didn't know exactly why, he thought this lesson was important to Jo, that he wanted to succeed, so he made an effort to be as helpful as he could and tried again. It took a few minutes but eventually, he found himself staring at his wide winged albatross-Patronus.

"Congratulations, Noah," Daniella said politely, in an attempt to lighten the mood. He gave her a cautious, tentative nod in aknowledgement, quickly looking away again.

Daniella was succeeding in most of her attempts now, but she realized she had to work until she could do it without Jo having to help her in any way.

* * *

**Jo gave his boyfriend a teasing smile, stuffing his wand back into his robes and leaning once more against the table. It scraped a bit on the floor.**

**Josiah stared wide-eyed at the sudden influx of silver vapor in the room, smiling despite himself. Contrary to popular opinion, the Patronus Charm was not overly complex; human emotions were complex, and using them to your advantage was the majority of the hurdle.**

**"They're amazing," he whispered, firing off a few more brightly colored mini-fireworks. "I'm really, really proud of all of you." He even looked sideways at Ezra then, who shuffled under the realization that everyone had now made a corporeal Patronus except him. He closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and sighed deeply.**

**"Expecto Patronum."**

**A silver bullet whizzed out of the end of the ebony wand, flapping its silver wings and making wide circles in the midst of its quick flight. It was a crow. It disappeared shortly after Ezra had the good sense to study it properly.**

**After some intense silence, Josiah fired a green firework over his head. Ezra blinked slowly, twice.**


	17. Reality Shock

**A/N:** You can consider this a sort of "part 2". A few months ahead, after everyone has left Hogwarts.

* * *

**Chapter 17 - Reality Shock**

_A few months later_

**It had been another long, nonproductive day for Ezra Greengrass.**

**He had been "job hunting," as the Muggles called it, for three weeks now. It wasn't exactly how he'd pictured his life after Hogwarts; there had been a lot more money in his daydream, and a lot less work.**

**More food, too - he'd** **really taken his house elves for granted, and how he regretted it now!**

**He had settled into one half of a small condo in Liverpool with Dan upon graduating, and so far this was the only part of his life that was currently meeting his expectations.**

**"Tough luck," said a scrawny, acne-riddled teenager. He was wearing a bright orange uniform shirt and holding a non-magical broomstick; his tone indicated that he wasn't sorry at all to lose some competition.**

**Ezra glared at him coldly before showing himself out of the establishment. He walked across the street, which was busy with traffic. Getting used to the idea of dodging cars had taken him at least a full week, but he considered himself something of an expert now. The red hand meant to wait, he had deduced, and the white pictograph of a Muggle meant that he wouldn't get splattered onto someone's - what was the word? Windbreaker? Windchime?**

**Windshield.**

**Whatever that was...**

**He hurried down the nearest alleyway and, making sure that he was completely alone, Disapparated with a sharp crack in the mudroom of the small condo. Daniella was usually home by now; she, unlike him, had found a job almost immediately, and was rather enjoying herself. The scent of food wafted in from the room. He opened and shut the door, stepped onto the plush brown carpet, and started to take off his tie.**

**He didn't need to say anything; his sour mood was carved into every feature of his cultured face.**

* * *

Daniella had to remember herself it would be rude not to wait for Ezra to eat. But the delicious smell of cheese was making it difficult. She'd loved pizza from the first time Jo had taken her to eat it, a couple years ago. She'd tried to learn how to make it, but hadn't had many chances to practice yet. So, for the time being, the pizza restaurant close to work was good enough and not too expensive.

She'd planned on cooking something for him tonight, but then decided something so different from what he was used to – at least she thought he'd never tried eating pizza before – would distract him from the job hunt for a little while.

As the front door opened, Daniella took two more glasses from the cabinet and left the tiny kitchen to meet her boyfriend in the living room.

"Hey, there," she greeted as she saw Ezra. "I was just waiting for you, dinner's ready. I thought we could…" She trailed off when she got close enough to see his face. Suppressing a sigh, because she already knew the answer, she asked as lightly as she could, "How was your day? Any luck?"

* * *

**The sight of her was a rush of relief over his troubled mind. He tried to smile, failed miserably, and tossed his tie unceremoniously onto a growing pile of laundry that he wasn't sure how to deal with yet.**

**"No," he said flatly, looking contemptuous. "Apparently, one needs to know how to operate a cash register to get a job slaving behind one."**

**He had just learned about Muggle cash registers last week, and didn't see what all the fuss was about a bunch of buttons attached to a pop-out tray. Why did everything need to be so bloody complicated?**

**Ezra pulled her into a warm hug, relishing the feel of her against his chest. He closed his eyes.**

**"Perhaps I should give up," he murmured in monotone. "I'll just... find some other way, that's all."**

**He looked around for a chair; normally, furnishing an apartment would cost some amount of Muggle money, but for Ezra, who was quite good at Transfiguration, he needed only to find the closest object (it was a paper grocery sack) and wave his wand. He did so now, producing a sturdy wooden dinner chair, which he pulled up to the table.**

**"What's this?" he asked plainly, peering into the square cardboard box with unmasked skepticism. "Some sort of open-faced sandwich? They certainly did put a lot of cheese on."**

**He looked around for the familiar fork, knife, and napkin, but found none.**

**He looked up at Dan expectantly.**

**"Shall I set the table?" he asked pointedly.**

* * *

Daniella ran her hands comfortingly over his back. She was a little more used to Muggle money than he was, but she didn't feel comfortable with it either. She'd managed to prove enough of her basic - and non-magical - cooking skills to stay away from the cash register at work, though.

"Maybe you need to own a pair of boobs to convince your co-workers to stay in the cash register for you," she said snarkily, trying to lighten up his mood. She pulled back enough to look up at him. "You'll figure something out, I know it."

She pressed her lips together when he produced the chair. If he really gave up on finding a job, she would probably come home one day to find it stuffed with furniture up to the ceiling.

"It's pizza! I think it's an Italian dish." She chuckled at his question. "The table is already set." She pointed at the glasses and the pile of napkins at the center of the table and smiled brightly. "That's all we need! Let's eat before it gets cold."

* * *

**"Are you implying I'm not charming enough on my own?" Ezra said, putting on his trademark smirk. All the bad days in the world couldn't rid him of that. "I'll have you know I can be incredibly persuasive. Remind me to regale you with the story of how I won the heart of a girl who thought I was roughly as appealing as raw bat spleen."**

**His smile faded slowly, as he remembered the events of the day and predicted the likely outcome of tomorrow's searching in one fell swoop.**

**He took a moment to digest her words, looking away from her and back to the open box again. It smelled wonderful, he had to admit. Now that they were on their own without any house elves to serve him gourmet meals every few hours, he was becoming much more easily impressed.**

**Still, the absence of a fork perturbed him, and he wavered for a moment despite Dan's cheery demeanor. Realizing that she was testing him somehow, he pursed his lips.**

**"Accio Fork," he said, somewhat petulantly. "Really, do be kind. I can only take so much in a day." A cheap metal fork zoomed through the air; Ezra caught it in a waiting hand and perched it over the pizza with a tentative look.**

* * *

Daniella loved that smirk, even though she had no intention of admitting it. She raised her eyebrows proudly instead. "As long as you don't forget to tell how you fell heads over heels for her long before you even realized."

She summoned the water bottle, at the same time he summoned the fork.

"Hey!" She leaned over, putting the bottle down, and snatched the fork from his hand. "No cheating," She said in a tone of voice that admitted no discussion; she waved the fork in front of his face. "You will _not_ eat pizza with a fork. That's a crime against gastronomy!"

She winked at him, turned to the cardboard box and picked a piece of bacon. When she pulled, a long thread of melting, delicious cheese stretched until it broke.

"Delicious," Daniella said in anticipation; she grinned and, glancing at Ezra, raised her head to put it in her mouth, licking the grease off her fingers. "Mmh! See, it's easy!"

* * *

**Ezra looked slightly scandalized as she grabbed the fork from his hand, but said nothing; after all, he wasn't about to argue with that look. He watched her pick up a piece of the meal from the box and lift it into her mouth.**

**With her hands.**

**He looked back at the box, turning it slightly so that he could search all of its surfaces.**

**"It doesn't have rules printed on," he said, grumpily.**

**Hunger was winning out against protocol, though, and his stomach gave an earnest growl. All that cheese... he did rather like cheese. He was about to reach into the box tentatively with one thin, slender-fingered hand when the door that separated the two condo apartments opened and shut.**

**"Is that pizza?" Jo said breathlessly, eyes sparkling. The shorter, rounder boy was mildly sunburnt on his face and looked very, very tired. "Cheers, Dan. You've saved my life, you have."**

**He scooped a slice of pizza out of the box and bit into it eagerly, then groaned his approval.**

**Ezra looked back at the box, now feeling slightly intimidated; he fiddled with the crust of one slice with uncertain fingers, wiggling it out of its position with extreme caution. Every few moments, he cut a glance at the Muggleborn, to see how he was holding his slice.**

**With a look of stalwart determination, he lifted the slice and latched onto it with his front teeth. It was hot, and burnt the very top of his mouth, so he let it go again, nonplussed.**

**"Try blowing on it," Jo suggested helpfully. He had finished his slice and put his crust back into the box, much to Ezra's horror. The pureblood looked up at him with disdain, then looked to Dan for assistance.**

* * *

Daniella's greeting grin widened as Jo lunged for the food. "Help yourself," she murmured, but he was already halfway into the slice of pizza.

She nearly let a laugh slip out at Ezra's face, but managed to turn it into a slight cough. She focused on her slice instead, blowing it with more care than necessary to appear busy. She had learned that with Ezra and Jo, she would do best to simply watch from the outside, and enjoy the fireworks. They were men, they didn't follow any logic that she could comprehend, anyway.

She chanced a look at Ezra. "Go on, or there won't be any left!"

Before she had even finished the sentence, Noah's head showed up at the door. "There's pizza and no one told me?!" He said cheerfully, but gave Ezra a wary look before stepping into the room. He'd much rather avoid the Slytherin boy, but Jo was there, so he'd be there as well. Just in case.

* * *

**The door opened and closed again, and Noah emerged from the other half of the condo. It took all of the mental strength left in Ezra's shallow reserves to refrain from glaring.**

**Instead, he looked at the slice of pizza that was cradled in his hands like a small, cheesy infant. He bit down again, this time without incident, and chewed thoughtfully.**

**It really was rather good.**

**He swallowed.**

**"How was work?" Josiah asked the blond boy, straightening his back so that he could kiss him sweetly on the cheek. Ezra watched the two of them with polite disinterest and took another bite of pizza. Unfortunately, however, that curiosity was quickly focused in his direction.**

**"Any luck with your job hunt?" the Ravenclaw asked him, and Ezra stopped in mid-chew for a long moment before resuming and swallowing again.**

**"No," he said quietly.**

**Jo gave him a sympathetic look (or as sympathetic a look as he could manage while eating pizza), but the other boy had already turned his head to the other wall and was staring with practiced diligence. He looked at Dan instead, offering a small, apologetic smile.**

**"Well, there's plenty of time," he said, ever the optimist.**

* * *

Noah slipped a hand around Jo's back for a moment, before reaching for the table and taking his own slice with the other hand. "Well, they assigned me to the Junior team. I told them I had experience training teenagers, but I couldn't tell them where I got it, obviously. So, this is like a test. I'll have to define the workout plans for the rest of the month for them; if the kids enjoy it, and if their manager enjoys the results, they'll promote me. I don't know if I have the patience for that many 11 year olds, but I was tired of staying in the gym all day."

He looked at Ezra, resisting the urge to give a snarky comment. Back in school, he would've jumped at the chance, but he'd been the recipient of more than enough mocking and taunting in his last few months there to make him think twice. But, at the same time, the rivalry with the other house was so intense for so many years, it was hard to lose the habit. "Yes, I'm sure you'll find something that doesn't involve money. Eventually."

Daniella looked intently at Jo, trying to change the subject, or at least the spotlight away from those two. "What about you, Jo? Is it what you expected? You're definitely getting a more intense tan than you used to, back home."

* * *

**"You'll do great," Jo said brightly to Noah, trying to diffuse the tension in the room with persistent cheerfulness. He knew Noah and Ezra didn't really get along; it wasn't as though he and the Slytherin boy were very close, either. He had learned to tolerate the smirking and sulking, though, if only for the brief periods of shining redemption that crept through the surly boy's demeanor.**

**And for Dan. Mostly for Dan, really.**

**At the Gryffindor boy's off-the-cuff comment, however, Jo winced a little and gave his boyfriend's arm a gentle but warning squeeze.**

**"Ha ha," Ezra replied mirthlessly, his face souring. He placed a single pizza crust neatly into a corner of the box and brushed his hands off meticulously. "I'm going to have a shower. Excuse me."**

**Jo watched the slender boy's retreating back, feeling helpless. After a few long moments, there was the distant sound of running water.**

**"You know it's hard for him," he said reproachfully to Noah, although not unkindly. "It's hard for all of us, but at least we grew up with it. Play nice, aye?"**

**He put a hand to his mostly-dry forehead at Dan's words and smiled sheepishly.**

**"It's hard work, but nothing I haven't done before," he said, trying to sound happy about it. "It's just the heat this summer, you know. I'll charm the sunburn off in no time once I have a shower myself."**

**After a few weeks of paranoia, Jo had stopped taking his wand to work altogether. It was better that way, really, he thought to himself. There was no better way to pretend to be a Muggle than to be one...**

**He grabbed another slice of pizza and continued the conversation.**

**"How's the cooking?" he asked, covering his full mouth with one hand. "Are they treating you well?"**

* * *

Noah was a bit disappointed for the lack of a proper response from the other boy. It would've been fun to tease him. He gave Jo his best sheepish, subdued look. "Sorry," he grumbled, but his eyes had a mischievous gleam. "I'll behave."

Daniella looked at the spot where Ezra had disappeared. He was never a particularly cheery person, but she didn't know how to take that sour look out of his eyes for more than a few moments. The fact that everyone else was starting to adjust and finding something to do with themselves wasn't helping.

She looked back at Jo and smiled, with effort. "It's going well…" she said cautiously. "The boss is quite grumpy most of the time, but the Head Chef is really nice and he's not bothered by my constant questions." She hesitated, then added, "He said I could go really far, if I wanted to learn and dedicate myself to it. Not that I will, but…"

She'd never considered cooking professionally; it had always been just something that gave her pleasure to do. She didn't want to live and work as a Muggle all her life, either. And Ezra definitely wouldn't want to live like that. He'd take the chance to go back to his world as soon as possible, so she had to think of that…

She stopped herself. She couldn't get carried away and make too many assumptions. It was difficult to know what went through his mind, sometimes. They were well, and happy together, she thought. But, even if it had been months since he'd run away from his family, she still wasn't sure he wouldn't want to go back, one day. He could get tired of playing houses with her, eventually. He could always go back to his safe, staged life, with his proper, rich and aristo girlfriend, and if she let herself forget that, she could very well end up with a broken heart, in the end. The fact that he was struggling so much only made her more insecure.

Realizing she'd been silent for too long, she shook her head and smiled cheerfully at the two boys. "It's just good to hear a compliment, right?" She said, sinking her teeth into the rest of the slice.

* * *

**Jo gave his boyfriend a look that was seriously doubtful, although a small, amused smile played on his lips. He turned to Dan, though, and the look on her face sobered him up.**

**"That's really, really great, Dan," he said encouragingly, beaming. "You really do have a knack for it, don't you? I mean, you can learn all you can while you're there, and... it's not as though wizards don't eat," he finished lamely, although he knew it wouldn't be quite the same in a wizarding kitchen.**

**There were a few beats of silence, in which they were all apparently lost in thought, before Dan broke it again.**

**"Right," he replied immediately, grinning. "And a compliment well-deserved, at that." He tossed his crust into the box without thinking; it landed with a dull thud.**

**Somewhere in the back of the small apartment, the bathroom door opened and the bedroom door opened and closed again.**

**Josiah sighed.**

**"Well," he murmured, tugging at Noah's sleeve. "I'm due a shower as well, I'm afraid. Thank you for the pizza, love. Let me know if I can do anything for you, okay? In any case, we'll be going now."**

**He looked pointedly at Noah and nudged him gently, as though the other boy was a sled dog on reins.**

**Ezra was spread out listlessly on the lumpy mattress, naked except for the covers, which he had draped over himself unceremoniously. He was laying on his stomach with his face in his pillow and thinking very morose thoughts.**

* * *

After Jo and Noah left, Daniella took the cardboard box to the kitchen counter, put the remaining slice of pizza on a plate, in case Ezra wanted to eat it later, put the box in the trash bin and washed her hands. She took her time, not sure what she'd find in the bedroom.

He was trying. He was also getting more and more frustrated every day. His quiet, almost secretive nature attracted her, but right now she found it mostly infuriating. She would even prefer if he just got angry and snapped at her or something. At least she would know what was on his mind.

She turned off the light and joined him in the bedroom, studying his slender, gloomy figure. Maybe she could poke him until he snapped. Or maybe she could just kiss him. She approached the bed undecided, sat on the edge, close to his side, and rested a hand on his back. "How did you like the Italian delicacy?"

* * *

**Ezra heard Dan come in, but didn't tilt his head toward her until he felt a gentle, comforting hand graze his back. He inhaled deeply, then released the air in a long, steady stream in an attempt to minimize his frustrations.**

**"It was fine," he said softly. His lips pursed, twitched into a half-smirk, and then settled again. "I probably would have enjoyed it more with the aid of a fork, but I suppose I'm in no position to become a gastronomic criminal mastermind."**

**He shifted a bit, so that he was more on his side than his stomach; he raked one hand through his damp hair and settled his arm under his head. He surveyed her tiredly.**

**"More people have been killed," he said after a while, deceptively conversational. For a while, the tension had been easy to ignore, but even Ezra could see that there was a storm gathering on their horizon. "I read it in the Prophet on the morning train."**

**He paused, then rolled his eyes shut humorlessly.**

**"I suppose being unemployed is marginally better than that."**

* * *

Daniella shook her head, as if shocked with his statement, but his comment gave her the opportunity to fuss a little, since he wasn't eating properly by her standards. "There's one slice left, so maybe later, when you're all alone in the kitchen and no one will be shocked to see you lick your fingers, you'll change your mind," she teased.

She looked at him more seriously as he shifted, her hand now resting on his side. She hadn't heard from anyone in her family since they'd left school, but there was no reason for them to be in danger. Except Logan, but she didn't want to think of him. "Anyone we know?"

At the last quip, she looked at him harshly. "It's much better from where I'm standing. It means you're still here, with me."

* * *

**Ezra huffed out a small, halfhearted chuckle at her preoccupation with his eating habits.**

**"No one we know," he confirmed his tone fading into a darker, more businesslike one. "Not yet, anyway. They wiped out over half of the Magical Catastrophes Department; the reports indicate that it was an ambush."**

**He knew that she was thinking of her brother, even if she didn't want to. Ezra thought of him too, although not so much with worry as with caution; if he knew anything about Logan, and he would like to think that he knew more than most, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the older boy caught up with them. And what would happen then, he could only speculate...**

**He thought of the Muggleborn and the Halfblood, snuggled up in the next condo. He didn't have any love to spare for them, but he didn't want to see them dead.**

**He placed his hand gently over hers, sliding it up from his stomach and up to his chest, where his heart beat valiantly in spite of all the grease he had just consumed for dinner. Then, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, softly.**

**"Still here," he repeated, although his eyes were hollow. "Although not especially useful as yet."**

* * *

To be honest with herself, Daniella hadn't felt particularly scared with the current situation yet. It all seemed very distant to her. Their most immediate concern was staying out of danger's way... and out of Ezra's family's way. But the news in the last few days were making her concerned for all four of them. "Seems like it's getting serious. And dangerous."

She ran a finger over his lower lip. His words spiked her temper. She grabbed his chin to get his undivided attention. He wasn't the type to feel sorry for himself, especially for such a stupid reason. "Stop that. This is a completely different world, it's normal to need time to adjust. The rest of us have dealt with this reality before, in one way or the other, but you hadn't. Ever. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with accepting help, now and then. It won't kill you!" She was breathing heavily by the end of the rant.

* * *

**Ezra's eyes widened slightly as she gripped his chin; he felt very vulnerable in that moment, which he suspected had been slowly building up for some time. He waited until she was done fussing at him to slide himself out of her grip. He rubbed his chin absentmindedly.**

**She was right, and he knew it. But she had experience in this world - slow, easy experience, which she had gathered painlessly over a number of years. From her position, it was surely an easier thing to say than to do.**

**"Accept help from whom?" he asked, after a small pause in the conversation. "I daresay Johnston has better things to do than teach me to count Muggle change. He's a patient friend to you, Daniella; he only tolerates me. And surely you aren't suggesting that I make peace with the Meathead," he finished, hotly.**

**He wiggled under the covers again, feeling indignant and slightly chilly.**

**"If so, you're overestimating my tolerance for stupidity by a very large measure. A man might well die from exasperation."**

* * *

Daniella pressed her lips together, but the memory of the constant tension between her best friend and her boyfriend made her say, "You only tolerate each other. Trust works both ways, Ezra. Sweet Merlin's beard, men are so infuriating sometimes!"

She got out of the bed, needing the space. "He would teach you, if you asked, even if he's not comfortable with you. But you can't expect him to come after you all the time, and always be the one to reach out. You could make an actual effort too! He went through a lot in school, for too many reasons." She didn't need to say part of it had been Ezra's doing. "He put all that over his shoulder, just because I asked him to. Because I love you."

She closed her eyes and pressed her palms against her forehead. She didn't want to argue, didn't want to say all those things. Damn it. Taking a deep breath, she sat on the edge of the bed again. "I'm just saying, you can ask for help. They _will_ help." A pause. "Well, Jo will, for sure."

* * *

**Ezra watched her pace around the room and rant to herself; she had obviously been keeping this pent up for a while, he thought dully to himself. If there was any bright side to be seen in the situation, it was that she was letting it out now, before it could fester any longer.**

**"Okay," he said softly, after a while. "Okay."**

**He took another deep breath, steadying himself. He reached out and pulled her, gently, closer to him. He knew she was upset, but just then, the feeling of nothing but the worn quilt between the two of them was incredibly enticing.**

**"I love you," he murmured, closing his eyes and burying his face into the tender side of her neck. "But I must admit, I can think of numerous other ways in which I'd rather be spending my night. Can't you?"**

**He kissed her jawline tenderly, situating himself so the cover was now covering both of them.**

**"We'll think about it more tomorrow."**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah closed the door, dropped the sports bag on the corner and tossed the keys onto the table unceremoniously. He started undressing on his way to his bedroom, pulling the shirt over his head. Old habit made him drop it on the floor near the bed; making a face, he stopped in his tracks, went back and picked it up again. At times like this, he really missed home; he hadn't had to do many housekeeping chores, and his mother had taken care of all his laundry. He looked around for a moment, then dropped the shirt on the back of a chair instead. That didn't look so bad, right?

He changed into a pair of shorts, since the day was warm, and the sun hit the condo with full force in the afternoon. No one else would return for a few hours, anyway. He washed his face and neck and went back to the common living room, settling on the sofa to work.

He wrote "Workout Plan" at the top of the page – he would have to ask Jo to help him with presentation later – then stared at the blank page.

He'd met the kids he was going to work with that morning and now he felt like he'd been ran over by the Hogwarts train. Had he been that energetic when he was their age? Maybe he was getting out of shape.

They had taken a chance on him, despite his lack of formal Muggle studies or credentials. He couldn't prove to them he was good at it unless he showed them. But he couldn't make the kids go through the same workout he did, or even the workout he'd done at a younger age preparing for Quidditch.

He scribbled something, then scratched his head with the blunt tip of the pen. His eyes wandered to the far corner and his heart ached. Partially hidden behind a trunk and a chair, was his broomstick.

He hadn't thought he'd miss flying this much. He still had his motorbike, even if they had to be careful about using it, since he didn't have much money for gas, most of the time. But how he missed the wind blowing against his face, against his robes, the thrill of diving, the adrenalin, the jolt that vibrated through his arm when he hit the Bludger.

Still, whenever he thought of it, it was worth it. He loved being with Jo more than he'd loved Quidditch. And he couldn't complain, really. Jo had given up more than he had in order to keep his family safe.

He just didn't think they would have to give up that much if everyone pulled their weight equally. He'd already asked his mother all the money he could, without his father suspecting anything. Jo was doing all he could. And Daniella had at least found a job. Grengrass, on the other hand…

* * *

**Ezra cracked into the living area in a whirl of black smoke, looking sour.**

**He had just come from a small herb store, which had been lovely, except for the fact that they wanted him to be able to produce a certificate from one of the local upper schools; now that there were more intense laws being passed, the old man had said, they couldn't take any chances. Kids could have fake IDs and whatnot. Best to just get the certificate.**

**Bloody Muggles and their bloody certificates and registers and paper money and automobiles. Bloody television, bloody pictures that didn't move, bloody every damn thing about the Muggle world! He hated it all. It pissed him right off.**

**He was certainly in no mood to see a shirtless Gryffindor on the couch, holding a piece of paper and looking perplexed as though he was trying to remember how letters worked.**

**"You look comfortable," he said shortly, brushing himself off meticulously and shedding his jacket. He had grown up wearing a jacket year-round; cotton in the summer, wool and tweed in the winter. It was a classic look, but he had come to realize that Muggles didn't really respect classic things - they were all out in t-shirts and denim and platform shoes while he was stuck in the 18th century.**

**He turned to his side of the condo, folding his suit jacket over one arm.**

* * *

As if his thoughts had summoned the man, Greengrass stormed into the common room. Tensing automatically in response, Noah turned slowly, gave a sideways smirk and crossed his arms, making his biceps more obvious. "I am, very."

"Found a job yet?" He asked, raising his voice as the other boy started walking away.

* * *

**Ezra almost had his fingers around the doorknob before the other boy managed a reply. He froze, and a cold shot of anger crackled through his veins. It hadn't been a good day; if he was honest with himself, he had really been itching for this fight.**

**"No," he said, his voice suddenly a silky-smooth false-calm. "I didn't."**

**He completed his turn, now focusing on the shirtless Gryffindor with a lazy stare. He was flexing his muscles like a peacock spreading its feathers; Ezra looked pointedly unimpressed.**

**"Is that your job, there? That paper?" he asked with mock curiosity. "It must be horribly tiring for you, all those letters. Mayhap you and Johnston should switch."**

* * *

Noah stood, his eyes intent on his opponent. Memories rushed through his mind, memories of his glory days in school, doing what he loved the most, older memories when he solved his problems and released his anger with his fists every other day. His blood ran hot; in a physical fight Ezra didn't stand a chance. In a magic duel…

Jo had asked him not to, but right then he didn't care. Right then, he wouldn't let that smug, spoiled idiot keep that smirk. So he aimed at the only weakness he could use.

"Don't worry about my letters when you should be worrying about your numbers!" He took a step closer. "What was it today? Still can't count your money?" He reached for his bag, found his wallet, opened it and shook it to drop the money on the table. A few coins and a single 5 pound note. "Here, have a free lesson! Tell me how much money is there! And tell me how we're going to pay the power bill with that!"

* * *

**As Noah stood, Ezra instinctively moved his arm toward his rolled sleeve, where he kept his wand. He didn't want to hex anyone - he didn't want to fight that badly - but if the other boy wanted to get serious about it...**

**He let the insult hit him squarely, fully aware that he was wide open and asking for the verbal bruising he was about to receive. Of course it was about money. Of course... his entire life was about money. It had always been.**

**He let his arm fall to his side again, watching the coins as they landed noisily on the table and spun frenetically to a full stop. They were all different colors; some of them looked rather like knuts, but brighter. The rest were all silver, and it was this he had trouble with. If they were all silver, how was he to remember which was which? And if he had to stop and inspect the back of each coin for the denomination, people would wonder... they would think he was some sort of backwoods idiot.**

**"I never took Muggle Studies," he mumbled in his defense. "I've never had a reason..."**

**He stopped, feeling his face flush horribly. Why was he justifying himself to this thickheaded prick? He was a pureblood, a proud man. He had enough magic in his veins to blow London into orbit.**

**But no, he couldn't count change.**

**"I'll pay your damned power bill, Ledger," he spat irritably. "It's not as though I haven't been trying. A great oaf like you wouldn't understand - you will never understand - what it is like. You..."**

**He trailed off, pursing his lips thinly before trailing off completely and raising a hand to his forehead. He closed his eyes.**

**"Fine."**

**He didn't give any indication as to what he was agreeing to, but it seemed significant that he said it out loud. He started to pull his coat back on.**

* * *

"I don't understand?! You know nothing about me! You always had everything, just like that." He snapped his fingers. "This is just a game to you, isn't it? You can just run back home whenever you want, back to all that money you have! Josiah and I cannot."

The other boy's sudden 'fine' made him frown. _Fine, what?_ He wanted to ask. "Where are you going?" He asked roughly.

* * *

**Ezra secured the first button on his jacket, smirking ferociously.**

**"Everything? Is that so?" he purred, his nimble fingers making quick work of the second button, too. "You think it's free and easy, do you? You're a fool, Ledger. The biggest risk you've ever taken was flying a little too fast on your bloody broomstick. Don't even pretend you know what's at stake for me."**

**The smirk faded into a frown as Ezra checked his watch. If he was going to get to Gringotts, he would need to leave now.**

**"I'm going to make your life a whole lot easier at my expense," he snapped. "Try to pretend you're grateful."**

**There was a loud crack, and a wispy column of black smoke where Ezra had been a few seconds ago.**

* * *

"That fucking-" Noah looked around, cursing, needing to punch something. Greengrass didn't give him time to reply, and now his throat was clogged with things left unsaid. Who did he think he was?

He stood there for a few minutes, unsure what to do, anger slowly fading, being replaced by confusion and a certainty that that little drama was going to come back and bite him in the ass. That idiot hadn't even said where he'd gone. Probably to some pub to get drunk. Right?


	18. Gringotts

_**Chapter 18 - Gringotts**_

**Josiah was sweating profusely; he would give anything to have his wand right now, so that he could cast a nice Breeze Charm over himself and be done with the whole mess. It was too risky, though, especially at this time of day, and people would surely notice if his hair was ruffling on its own. It was a wretchedly windless day in Liverpool.**

**He hadn't done much physical labor since he'd started school at Hogwarts, and now that he was out, he realized that he hadn't missed it as much as he'd thought. He was constantly sweating through his shirts in embarrassing places, he was always sunburnt, and he was always tired and hungry. He hated lifting things without magic, even if he could; the idea that he could lift things with magic constantly niggled at the back of his mind and made every box he heaved up onto the deck seem that much heavier.**

**He had lost weight, though, so there was that...**

**He trudged up the stairs to the condo and let himself in, only to find Noah standing in the middle of the room looking incredibly angry. He was also shirtless.**

**Josiah proceeded with caution.**

**"Noah," he said carefully, judging his boyfriend's response. "Why are ye glowering at the telly? Did it cut out?"**

* * *

Noah turned his head at the sound of the door, hoping it was Greengrass.

It wasn't. Seeing Jo filled him with a mix of relief and dread. Jo would help him regain control of his emotions; Jo would also be mad at him. He half-sighed, half-groaned.

"The… what? No." He grumped confusedly. He closed his hands into fists. "That prat! He has a damn big mouth and very small bollocks! And now he's gone."

* * *

**Jo blinked confusedly at Noah's confusion. He looked at the television, then back to his inexplicably shirtless boyfriend - not that he was complaining - and tried again, slightly more desperately.**

**"Which prat?" he asked, crossing the room and patting one of Noah's biceps reassuringly. The heat had addled his brains somewhat, so it took him a few moments to flick through his memories before he placed the insults with one face in particular.**

**A small wave of panic struck him like a single humming cord, steadily increasing in intensity. The worst part was that he didn't know why.**

**"Ezra?" he asked, confirming. "Where'd he go, did he say?"**

* * *

"Who knows!" Noah said irritably. "To get drunk, maybe? Or to rob a bank?"

Looking at Jo's confusion, Noah stopped moving – tried to, at least. "We argued, and," he glanced at the table, where the money was still pathetically scattered. "I told him we couldn't pay the power bill this month, and…" He shrugged. "He just left!"

* * *

**Josiah looked down at the money on the table - a five pounder and about thirty-five pence - and looked back at Noah.**

**"Did you say something to him?" he asked, his voice teetering between serious worry and outright accusation. "Noah, we have had this conversation literally a million times. Do ye remember it? Aye? Don't push his buttons, you have no way of knowing what he'll do, yeah?"**

**He took a step back, closing his eyes and trying to inhale.**

**This was bad, and he knew it. It could potentially be very bad, although he didn't know how or why. And, then, a single, chilling thought flashed across his mind.**

**What would he tell Dan?**

**"Shit," he breathed, helplessly. He had his suspicions, but there was no way to know for sure where the Slytherin boy had gone, and he would only waste time and effort trying. The only logical thing to do was to wait for him to come back.**

**If, indeed, he was coming back.**

* * *

"So, I just keep my mouth shut and let him mock me?" Noah's frown deepened. "Can't say a word to the little prince, he gets all upset!" He swore, because he couldn't push away the guilt. And Jo was really upset with him now. Shit. "I'm sorry, I just… sorry," he said, exasperated.

He reached out tentatively to his boyfriend, and then they heard the sound of keys and the doorknob moving. He held his breath, hoping it would be Greengrass.

It was Daniella Hawke.

Daniella entered and closed the door, carrying a heavy grocery bag. She glanced at the two boys in the common room and gave a small smile. "Oh, hi! Sorry I'm late. The restaurant was so busy!" She set the bag on the table and made her way to her side of the condo. "But I'll make shepherd's pie for dinner. Let me just have a shower, I'm stinking of fries, and I'll get right on it."

Noah's eyes widened. "Uh…" He gave Jo a pleading look.

* * *

**Josiah gave the other boy a look so scathing that it could have soured milk from three blocks away and light a match from ten feet.**

**"Well, it doesn't matter now if you're sorry or not. In fact, the real issue at hand is what we are going to do when Dan gets home, because she is going to have both of our heads on a spike and then you can tell her how sorry you -"**

**The door swung open and Jo's mouth snapped shut instantly, as though someone had hit him with a Silencing Charm. He blinked awkwardly for a few moments, trying to think of the best way to phrase to his best friend what was happening. When she reached for the doorknob, however, the guilt overcame him and the truth slipped out.**

**"Dan," he said, in a very particular tone that indicated he was about to give her bad news but he wanted her to be calm about it. "Ezra's... not here at the moment. He and Noah had an argument, and he took off."**

**He cleared his throat uncertainly, waiting for a reaction.**

**"He didn't say to where," he added, answering the question that he knew would come next. "He was already gone when I'd come in."**

* * *

Daniella froze as the words slowly sank in. She stared at the door for a long moment, to make sure her heart still remembered how to work.

When she finally turned around, she looked at Josiah and then her gaze shifted to Noah. She'd told Ezra they would help him. She'd _guaranteed_ it. "What did you tell him?" She asked in a hollow voice.

Noah looked down, avoiding her gaze, as well as Josiah's. "Just… you know, about the bills. Look, I didn't mean to get him so riled up he'd run away, but he-"

"And what did he say?" Daniella asked over his justifications. A strange cold was creeping up through her, a sense of dread she was desperately trying to keep at bay.

"I don't know, something about making our lives easier. He probably just went back to his job hunt," he said tentatively.

Daniella glanced at Josiah and saw he believed that possibility as much as she did: not at all. He'd gone back to London. The question was, to where exactly? And would he come back to her?

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**When Ezra cracked into Diagon Alley, he was still seething almost painfully from his argument with Ledger. He had wanted to stay and fight - not physically, but at least verbally - but he knew that the aggression building in him wouldn't be satisfied with petty quibbling. It was deeper, and far more troublesome than that.**

**Wizarding London buzzed around him, although it was getting nearer to supper and there were less people out than there usually were during the afternoon. He knew the crowds well - he had worked here for years, after all. The majority of people were headed to the Leaky Cauldron, where they would either Apparate or Floo home.**

**Ezra started moving against the crowd, making his way to the large, imposing structure at the end of the street.**

**He just needed to get in, exchange his galleons, and get out. If he could do that, and quickly, there would be no harm done. His parents wouldn't suspect a thing until they checked his vault, and even then, they wouldn't find him in Liverpool...**

**It took him ten minutes to get to the counter at Gringotts, and one more for the bespectacled goblin to acknowledge his presence.**

**"Mister Greengrass," the goblin said cordially. Ezra noted the tone of his voice, and realized fully the possibility that his parents could have paid every single goblin in the place to keep an eye out for him. He narrowed his eyes slightly before shaking the thought out of his mind.**

**"I'd like to access my vault," he said hollowly. The goblin bowed, making his way down to the floor where Ezra stood, waiting.**

**"Of course."**

* * *

Logan walked up the street, thinking it must be his lucky day. He was having a drink at a pub in Knockturn Alley when the mountain goat Patronus appeared to deliver the long awaited message. But, then again, he'd spent many evenings there, searching, waiting. And now, finally, he had his chance.

He ran a finger up and down his wand as he hid in the shadows, away from the lamp posts in front of the main entrance of Gringotts. "If my orders weren't so clear, I'd deliver your son, but not in the state you'd like," he murmured to no one, watching the large doors. "Sneaky bastard, fooling me, taking my little sis' away from the family."

Someone came out and adrenalin shot through his veins, but it wasn't his prey yet. When he was starting to feel impatient, Greengrass made his appearance at the door. Baring his teeth in a wicked smirk, Logan pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and followed the younger boy.

* * *

**Ezra slipped out of the bank entrance as quietly and discreetly as possible. He hadn't seen any indication that anyone had tipped off his parents; that long pause from the goblin had been suspicious, but goblins were notorious for being rude to wizards in any case. The only reason they were around was because they were useful - it wasn't as though they were working in customer service.**

**Still, his jacket felt heavy where the money (lots and lots of money, more Muggle money than he'd ever seen at once) was tucked into the inside pocket. His hand was on his wand, just in case.**

**He walked hurriedly toward the far alley, trying not to make eye contact with anyone lest they recognize him instantly. He wouldn't put it past his parents to put up reward posters with his face on them - they had the money to spare, certainly, and no excess love for him that he had ever been able to identify.**

**If he could just Apparate out and get back to Liverpool without being seen...**

**There was a back alley up ahead, and Ezra made for it hurriedly, walking more quickly now that the end was in sight. He turned onto it immediately and then, out of sheer paranoia, turned to look behind him.**

**His eyes locked with Logan Hawke's; they had that predatory gleam that they had always had, but magnified. He took a couple of very slow backward steps and then, without warning, hauled off a large nonverbal curse that sent a nearby trashcan flying into the other boy's path.**

**He ran.**

* * *

The chase was almost too easy for a while. Then, as if poked by some invisible hand, Greengrass turned around and looked straight him. Logan had just enough time to raise his wand when the trashcan came flying towards him. He shoved it out of the way with his wand and ran after him.

There wasn't enough time to catch up. He had always had good reflexes, but his intense training in the last few weeks had honed his skills to a whole new level.

He slowed down just enough to settle his breathing and take aim, before Greengrass Disapparated. He itched to cast the curse.

_I want him alive._ The order resonated in his mind, made him hesitate for the briefest moment. He waved his wand to another trashcan instead, returning the favor, and took a few steps closer.

"Come on, boy," he growled. "I hadn't taken you for a coward. Turn around and fight."

* * *

**Adrenaline pushed Ezra's body beyond its limits, and he was suddenly running faster than he'd ever run in his life; the rough gravel of the alley crunched under his posh boots and sprayed behind him with the speed. The bricks on either side of him were a blur.**

**He didn't know what would happen to him if Logan caught him here, but he knew that it would kill him to find out. If not now, then later; if Logan caught him here, he was never going to get away again.**

**He chanced one look behind him and instantly regretted it - when had the other boy ever been so fast? - because the next thing he knew, he was stumbling over a large, metal rubbish bin and smashing his face into the pavement hard.**

**Logan's pounding footsteps were closing in on him. He winced against the pain and cried out instinctively; he'd made contact with the ground with his eyebrow, and he could feel silt and grit ground into the scrapes on his face, which was hot like wildfire. The next thing he did was fumble for his wand, which was luckily still intact, and deflect a sizzling hex.**

**But it was the other boy's words that chilled him most of all; nobody had ever used that tone of voice and meant well.**

**"Fuck you," he spat, throwing a hex blindly behind him before rolling over onto his back with some effort and slowly, excruciatingly, getting to his feet. He took a few more steps back, quicker this time, and grit his teeth.**

**He wasn't going to stand up and get pummeled like some idiot Gryffindor. Did the other boy know him at all?**

**He stood, wand outstretched, knowing full well that he would have to trade a moment of vulnerability for the ability to Disapparate.**

* * *

Logan's lopsided grin appeared once more. He'd gotten him to stop. That was all he needed. He tilted his head mockingly when he saw the damage he'd made. "Uh oh," he said cheerfully, then made a '_hiss_' sound between his teeth. "Seems like you ruined your pretty face. Will she still want you now?"

He stopped a few steps away, blocking off the rest of the street. He needed to find his sister before delivering the boy.

"Where is she, Greengrass?" His amused tone was gone. "I might even consider letting you go, if you take me to her," he lied.

* * *

**Ezra could feel the skin around his eye swelling now; he was almost positive that the trickle of warmth he felt was just the protesting of his singed, angry nerves, and not blood... but then, he couldn't be sure.**

**"You know what the Muggles say about jealousy, Logan," he rasped, somehow managing a smirk amidst what felt like the slow, painful melting of the left side of his face. "Eventually, it will eat you from the inside out. Provided you aren't already hollow."**

**The younger boy licked a bit of blood from the corner of his lip.**

**"Did you lie to those Ministry Officials too, before you tortured them to death?" he whispered with utmost certainty.**

**Then, he sent a bright red curse flying through the air at an impressive speed; it missed its target, because his eyes were watery from pain, but it collided spectacularly with the wall nearby. The bricks that were touched by the light exploded into a grimy, sloppy mixture of green-brown acid.**

**He took a few steps back again, desperate to find a large enough window of time in which to Disapparate.**

* * *

Logan's lip twitch was the only sign that he'd heard the words. His eyes grew darker. "Well, I wanted to get some practice before I found you," he replied. "If you want to do it the hard way, I'll-" Greengrass's wand moved, and the wall next to Logan exploded. He raised his free arm to protect himself from the debris. So, he'd made his first move.

He sent a curse that exploded where Ezra's feet had been just a moment ago. He was backing away. Logan raised his wand. He had to deliver the boy alive to find Dany, but no one said he had to go in one piece.

_Sectumsempra_ was an extremely fun curse Snape had taught him. A little too messy, but very useful. He started a wide movement with his wand and a silver flash cut the air in Greengrass's direction.

* * *

**Ezra's world was, for exactly one second, a whirlwind of unrecognizable shapes and colors and a very intense squeezing feeling in his chest and a searing, unbearable pain in his side that hadn't been there a moment before. The second after was no less eventful, although he found himself stumbling into the cheap condo he shared with Daniella in Liverpool instead of careening through magical space.**

**The first thing he did was fall forward onto someone he couldn't see and gasp, very audibly.**

**"Oh my god," said Josiah, who was supporting a newly-generated Ezra with the majority of his body weight and holding him up by the arms. "Oh my god, your face!"**

**"Do you have charms on this building?" Ezra asked in a cracked voice immediately after catching his breath.**

**"I - well, not many, no, I didn't really - oh my god, you're bleeding -"**

**"Do it now."**

**"Yes, okay, I will, I will, but first -"**

**"Josiah!"**

**There was a stunned silence in which many thoughts went through Josiah's head, and none of them made any sort of sense in particular. Most notably, he was pretty sure it was the first time that the pureblood boy had ever used his first name.**

**"Okay," Jo whispered, removing his arms from Ezra's sides and letting him down onto the floor as gently as possible. For all his effort, though, the Slytherin still collapsed onto the floor with a dull thump.**

**Josiah was vaguely aware of the fact that his right hand was covered in blood.**

**"Someone go fetch me the dittany," he said breathlessly, waving his wand in very intricate, complex patterns in the direction of the front door. "Protego Totalum... Protego Maxima... Salvia Hexia..."**

**Ezra, meanwhile, was bleeding out somewhat pathetically on the heavily scratched wood floor. He blinked stupidly at the ceiling, which was spinning; he moved a hand down to his side, where something had torn a rip in his jacket and shirt and cut straight through into the flesh of his belly, to the left of his navel.**

* * *

Daniella jumped to her feet at the loud 'POP' so quickly that the chair she was sitting on fell back noisily. She was nailed to the floor at the sight of Ezra; she could only stare in shock. Until he collapsed.

She hurried to his side, but a strong hand pulled her back to her feet.

"You get the stuff Jo needs, I'll take him to the couch," Noah's voice was even, but firm. She didn't argue. She wouldn't have the strength to pull him up anyway. With shaky legs, she ran to Jo's bedroom to find the dittany and whatever else they might need.

Noah, who hadn't said a word since answering Daniella's questions, resumed his silence as he pulled the injured boy up from the floor with experienced hands and half-pulled, half-carried him to the sofa.

When Daniella returned, hands full with towels, flasks and a basin, Josiah was still mumbling his protective spells. She couldn't tell if she'd been that fast, or if he was taking an eternity to be done. She dropped everything on the table and fell to her knees next to Ezra's bloody face.

"What happened?" she breathed, frowning as she started to take his hair away from the mess that was the left side of his face with shaky fingers.

* * *

**Ezra's head lolled listlessly against Noah's muscles, which felt even more like tree trunks than they looked. He allowed himself to be eased onto the sofa, due in no small part to the fact that he was in no shape to protest, and coughed.**

**He met Daniella's eyes as much as he was able; as deeply as he loved her, all he could think about at the moment was how similar those eyes were to her brother's, no less sharp but full of so much more heart.**

**He wanted to speak in full sentences, but he was feeling a bit faint.**

**"Your brother and I..." he murmured, closing his eyes tightly against the throbbing of the side of his face. "...had something of a... playdate... in London."**

**Josiah, who had just finished casting ten protective spells, twice, whipped around and rushed over to Ezra like a large, overprotective hen. He pushed Noah gently out of the way and began unbuttoning Ezra's jacket. As he was pulling it off, a crisp stack of twenty pound notes fell out of the inside pocket and flopped onto the floor.**

**"Bloody hell," Jo breathed. He'd never seen that much money at once in his life, and probably wouldn't again, if things kept up at this rate. His focus was immediately drawn back to the Slytherin on the couch, however, at the sight of the bright red stain saturating his white shirt.**

**Knowing that there was no time to waste, he grabbed both sides of the fabric and ripped. Pearled buttons showered the room, landing in six different places with delicate clicks.**

**Josiah took the bottle of dittany from Dan's shaky hand and clasped it in his own, which was only slightly more steady and not half as nimble. He poured the contents of the bottle over the gash; the edges of the wound sizzled on contact.**

**Ezra screamed, a short, sharp cry that made his throat sore.**

**"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jo murmured, siphoning some of the excess blood off of the wound with his wand. The dittany was working quickly, but the cut was still a bit too deep for it to be totally repaired.**

**"It's too deep, I'm going to need something to pack it with," Jo told them, his voice shaking with nerves. "A shirt, a towel, anything..."**

* * *

Daniella couldn't say she was surprised to know it had been Logan. She nodded vaguely, hushing Ezra. It wasn't important right now, but she realized she didn't feel the sharp stab of betrayal with the confirmation that her brother had done that, anymore. She didn't even feel disappointed. She felt only anger towards her brother. In that moment she knew, with terrible clarity, that Logan had broken something inside her, something she didn't think could ever be fully mended.

The sight of the money made her sick to her stomach. He had nearly killed himself for a fucking roll of notes!

Ezra's cry brought her back to the present. She couldn't even be properly angry with him while he was bleeding out. Burying all the anger bubbling up made her dizzy.

She grabbed his hand, so he'd have something to hold on to, and forced herself to look at what Josiah was doing. Her stomach turned again and she closed her mouth firmly. '_He needs to go to the hospital_,' she thought, but didn't say it out loud, because obviously they couldn't take him there. His family would find him out in the blink of an eye.

Noah, jaw set and teeth clenched, reached for the towels Daniella had dropped next to the sofa and gave one to Jo. Then he turned his back on the others, took his wand out of his pocket and heated up a pot full of water, mostly just to keep busy. He placed the water and a few more towels between Josiah and Daniella and backed away.

Daniella chose the softest hand towel to start cleaning Ezra's face.

"You're such an idiot," she murmured angrily every now and then to Ezra.

* * *

**Josiah was so focused on the wound that everything else had more or less disappeared. He heard himself giving orders, and vaguely knew that they were being followed, because the items he asked for appeared at his side within a few moments. If he had been thinking more clearly, he might have just summoned everything he needed, but right now his oddly-shaped willow wand was pointing directly at the gash and trying to mend it shut.**

**He took a deep breath, as steady as he could manage. The scream had put his nerves even more on edge than they had been already, and what he really needed was to focus. He needed to think back to all of his books, the ones that he'd read over and over again, cover to cover. He needed to think back and remember that this was something he could do.**

**"_Vulnera Sanentur_," he whispered, barely audible. The edges of the wound receded slightly, trying to knit themselves back together. "_Vulnera Sanentur... Vulnera Sanentur..._"**

**It wasn't perfect; it was an expert-level spell, and he had never attempted it before. He only vaguely knew the theory. Eventually, however, the gaping wound began to fuse together into a raised and tender line of scar tissue.**

**Josiah bit his lip. A professional healer could have avoided scarring, but he couldn't really be blamed for doing as much as he was able.**

**"Thank you, Noah," he said softly, now that the worst was over. He couldn't imagine how terribly guilty his boyfriend felt right now - he even felt guilty for yelling at him at all. He took one of the proffered towels and used his wand to rip it into one long, even strand.**

**"I can mend the cut, but I can't replace the blood you've lost," he said, speaking now to Ezra directly. "That will take time. You're not to move from here tonight. I'll bring you a cauldron to wee in if I've got to, but you're not to move. Do you understand? Dan, I'll leave that to you."**

**He used his wand to vanish the blood that was dried onto Ezra's pale skin and slowly, carefully dressed the wound with the makeshift bandage. It was certainly much better than it had been, but one wrong, eager move and it was apt to rip right open again.**

**"_Accio Dittany_," he said, pointing in the direction of the bedroom he shared with Noah. Another small bottle came zooming in to meet him. He handed it to Dan. "It should clear up the scrapes in a few minutes," he told her, not feeling strong enough yet to smile.**

**He really felt rather weak, if he was being honest. He leaned against Noah and closed his eyes in an attempt to steady himself.**

**"You really are an idiot," he agreed after a few beats of silence.**

**Ezra, whose eyes were half-lidded, was still focused on the feel of Dan's hand. It seemed to be the only thing keeping him anchored to the land of the conscious.**

**"Noted and ignored," he whispered to both of them, not quite managing to smirk. "Enjoy your electricity."**

* * *

Noah held Josiah quietly, deeply relieved he was still allowed to do so, and take comfort from it.

"He won't move," Daniella said in a definitive way, looking at Ezra. She took the bottle and finished cleaning his swollen face.

Her eyes were a bit too determined, a bit too intense as she worked. Her hand shook suddenly at his electricity quip and she stopped touching him, because she didn't trust herself to not smack him.

She gave Ezra the best, most caring treatment anyone could possibly receive, even in the hospital. She would get him back on his feet, safe and sound. She would do it, just so she could rip him apart because of what he'd made her go through.

When she was done, since the others were still close by to keep an eye on Ezra, she washed her hands, searched through her ingredients kit, found what she needed and started preparing a potion to replenish the lost blood. It wouldn't help much with the soreness, but he deserved to suffer a little, after making her go through that.

A few minutes of heavy silence passed while she stared at the cauldron, as if that would make it be ready faster. About ten minutes later, she filled a mug and brought it to Ezra.

"Thank you so much, Jo. Really," she murmured as she passed by him, resting a hand on his forearm. "You two should go wash up and eat something. I'll stay with him."

* * *

**Ezra was using all of his remaining willpower not to flinch as Dan dabbed at his eye with the damp cloth. The dittany stung, but not nearly as bad around his eye as it had around his middle, for which he was grateful.**

**He knew she was mad at him. And if she wasn't yet, she would be eventually, after the shock of seeing him in a pool of his own blood had worn off.**

**"I think my parents have paid off the goblins," he said softly, closing his eyes as she rubbed a particularly stubborn piece of grit out of the scrapes on his face. "I can't think of any other way Logan would have known. He came out of nowhere."**

**Josiah, meanwhile, was staring at the wall, looking hollowed out and tired, as though he hadn't slept for days.**

**If Logan had found Ezra... there was only one logical explanation, but it was caught in his throat. He couldn't say it. It was painfully obvious, but somehow, saying it out loud would make it final, and if he said that to Dan...**

**He didn't know what Dan would do. What could any of them do? Logan had made his choice, the choice he had probably been planning to make all along.**

**Now they had to make theirs.**

**"Call me if anything happens," he said finally, nodding in response to Dan's gentle fussing. "I'll just whip up something quick."**

**He looked up at Noah, then looked back to Dan, then turned and padded into the kitchen.**

**Ezra was silent for a few moments after they had left; his mind was still reeling from the intense pain, even though the edge had been blunted by Johnston's quick thinking and Dan's gentle touch.**

**"Thank you," he whispered, finally able to get a clear look at her. He took a small, tentative sip from the mug she had offered him.**

* * *

Noah hesitated, opened his mouth, then closed it and walked out after Jo, picking up the notebook he'd been working on, on his way. No point in saying anything now. He'd just be adding fuel to the fire. He seemed to leave a trail of hurt people behind him, no matter what he did, followed by another trail of angry people.

He closed himself in the bathroom, washing the blood off his arms and side, where he'd supported Greengrass's weight. Then, after making sure the bedroom was still empty, he took a t-shirt from the drawer, put it on and sat at the feet of the bed. He focused on writing down every workout routine he'd ever done, only to scratch them out after.

* * *

**Josiah stuck his head in the fridge, peeking around at the sparse collection of ingredients he had to work with. They weren't starving, but they weren't living a luxurious life, either.**

**It was only when he shut the fridge and went to fetch a large stock pot that he realized his hands were still covered in blood, and his stomach gave an uneasy turn. He placed the pot gingerly on one of the grease-stained burners, made his way over to the sink, and washed his hands thoroughly.**

**He dried them off on a nearby dishtowel and, looking around for Noah but not seeing him anywhere nearby, took a few quick steps into the hallway and checked the bedroom.**

**"We have some leftover mutton and potatoes and a bit of broth," he informed his boyfriend in a soft, slightly dazed tone of voice. They had all skipped dinner, so they were surely all hungry, but somehow eating after such an event seemed out of place. "I thought I'd make stew, if you're keen."**

**He let his eyes drift over Noah's face; his brow was furrowed in concentration, and his eyes were cloudy. Jo crossed the room and nestled in beside the other boy on the edge of the bed.**

**"How are you?" he asked, softly.**

* * *

Noah tensed when Jo sat next to him. He turned his head slightly, but didn't quite look in the other boy's eyes. He really didn't need any more help to feel guilty right now.

"I'm fine," he grumbled. He scratched out something else, and wrote down '15 to 20 laps'. "I know I screwed up, you don't have to tell me again. I'm not that stupid."

* * *

**Josiah looked at the blond boy with slight reproach, shifting on the lumpy mattress.**

**"That wasn't what I was going to say," he said. "You're not at all stupid. This wasn't your fault."**

**There were a few beats of silence wherein Josiah pondered this statement. Noah had been the catalyst for the night's events, certainly; he seriously doubted that Ezra would have stormed off to London on his own without provocation. The basic facts, however, remained the same: if Logan had been looking for them, one of them was bound to run into him sooner or later. And, really, in the scheme of things, Ezra was the only one other than Dan who would have had any chance at surviving the encounter.**

**It it had been him, Josiah thought with a chill, he probably wouldn't have bothered cutting him up before he...**

**"I'm not just saying that, either," he said suddenly, in an attempt to push his previous thought out of his mind for a few precious moments. "Logan... Logan would have found one of us anyway. You might have argued, yes, but even if you started it - which doesn't matter, that's nae what I'm saying - it wasn't your fault that he got... that he got hurt."**

**He looked over at his boyfriend, his eyes almost pleading, as though he needed everything to be okay. Even if it was temporary.**

* * *

"Logan _will_ find us. That's the problem." Noah finally looked up at Jo, and his heart ached. He hadn't met that Logan yet. The others always sounded wary when they talked of him, but he'd just thought it was because he was Daniella's brother. Now that he'd seen what this Logan could do…

If that had happened to Josiah… It could still happen to him, being Muggleborn. "Eventually, they _will_ find us, and it was my fault that he ran out like that, on his own, without saying where he was going. Because I didn't take the risks seriously enough. If he hadn't made it back here, we might not find him in time. Or they might've found us."

A dread that had been slowly growing silently in the back of his mind, spilled out. "How will I leave every morning, and get through the day without knowing if you're safe?"

* * *

**Josiah's hazel-green eyes were wide and a little sad.**

**"It's a war, Noah," he said, trying to sound soothing about it. "It's not good for anyone, but it's not as though... I mean... he's not alone, but neither are we," he finished, somewhat weakly.**

**He was quiet for a moment. Ezra was a talented wizard, and there was no denying it; blood purity aside, he had a certain finesse and quickness of thought that was beneficial in a situation like the one he'd narrowly escaped tonight. Josiah wasn't good at those sort of situations - he tended to panic and lose control of his mind for an undetermined length of time - but he was still a good wizard.**

**In his own way...**

**"I'll be alright," he said finally, reassuring the other boy. "I'll start taking my wand to work again. It will be fine. They're in London, and we're in Liverpool, and the condo is so stuffed with enchantments that it's liable to pop."**

**A pause.**

**"Noah," he insisted, raising a soft palm to graze his boyfriend's cheek and turn it toward him. "It will be alright. Now do you want mutton stew or not?"**

* * *

Noah nodded at Jo's words, but the truth was, even if they were more united as group – which they were far from being – and trusted each other blindly outside of each couple, they would still be rookies, compared to those people. There was no denying that. But he saw no point in scaring Jo with such thoughts.

He met his boyfriend's eyes and managed a small smile. "Well, still, I'll walk you to work tomorrow. We can't be sure yet if Logan found something else out. We have no way of telling if they know where we are, so we really should be extra careful for the next few days. And if you see that bloke, you tell me right away, because I don't remember his face."

Jo's hand was warm and comforting, and despite his empty stomach, he suddenly craved a different kind of comfort much more intensely. Giving in to his need, he kissed Jo, then whispered close to his lips, "And don't you dare disappear on me like that, ever."

* * *

**Jo smiled in return, relieved that the conversation was finally going in a place that he was willing to follow. Worrying too much gave him indigestion, and he wanted to at least have a decent meal before going to bed and tossing about.**

**"I'll allow it," he said, his tone mockingly imperialistic. Then, his face got a little more serious.**

**"If he'd grabbed Ezra while he was Apparating, he would have been in our front room," he said. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but... let's just not worry anymore tonight, okay? I put up Charms... I'll need to reinforce them in the morning, but they'll hold until then. If I can keep Logan away from my family, I can bloody well keep him away from us."**

**He set his face with determination, looking serious until Noah swept him up in a kiss.**

**Josiah rested his forehead against Noah's; he closed his eyes.**

**"Well, I'm not some daft pretty boy, that's for sure," he teased softly. "You'll have to do more than pull an attitude to get rid of me, Noah Ledger, and that's a fact."**


	19. Logan's Tale

_**Chapter 19 - Logan's Tale**_

Noah and Jo stayed in their side of the apartment the rest of the evening. They kissed, they cooked, sort of, they ate, they talked. Noah appreciated their time alone; it helped him get rid of a layer of tension he hadn't realized had been there for some time. He knew that things were only going to get more difficult, but maybe now they were more prepared. He offered to do the dishes and put away the food, and gently but steadily pushed Jo into the bedroom, to get some rest. He'd done more than any of them, he deserved a break.

There were two bowls of stew on the table for Daniella and Greengrass, and now he looked at them hesitantly. Part of him didn't want to go anywhere near the common room or the people in it, and it wasn't because of Greengrass. But he told himself he was no proper Gryffindor if he ran away from a girl, so he huffed out a resigned sigh, took the bowls and pushed the door open with his shoulder.

The room was quiet, except for the background voices coming from the tv; the lights were dimmed. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darker room, stopped in his tracks and looked around.

Daniella wasn't there; Greengrass was still on the sofa, staring at the tv. There was a wooden chair next to the sofa, probably where she'd been sitting. He hadn't thought she'd leave Greengrass's side, but maybe it was better this way.

He walked to the table closeby and put the bowls down. Then, he turned back to the sofa and looked cautiously at Greengrass. "So… feeling better?"

* * *

**Daniella had left Ezra to have a shower and a change of clothes. He loved Dan very much - probably more than she could know - but he was a little relieved to be without a caretaker for the first time in hours. They hadn't been talking much, for one thing, and any exchange they had was sterile and brief.**

**Fortunately, he was in the same room as the television, which he hadn't had time to examine properly before now - what with the job hunting at all. It was really very ingenious, for a Muggle contraption.**

**He found, however, that the programs made little sense.**

**He didn't know how to change the channel, and so it had been stuck on the same one for hours, playing countless episodes of the same series back to back. They were only about twenty minutes long, which Ezra found ideal, and he felt that watching them constituted some form of compromise, on his part. Nobody could say that he wasn't trying to learn about Muggles now.**

**His eyes were torn from the glowing screen by a sound at the door; it was Ledger, and he had food. In the background, the upbeat theme song played. The word CROSSROADS flashed across the screen in large, bold yellow letters.**

**The Gryffindor spoke, and Ezra cut him a sideways glance that was half caution and half annoyance - he didn't want to miss the opening dialogue.**

**"Quite," he offered, clearing his throat. His voice was raspy from disuse. It was mostly the truth; nothing hurt unless he moved, and he had been trying to avoid moving for quite some time. He wasn't sure that standing was a good idea, but this might have been due in part to the fact that he was incredibly absorbed in the lives of four fictional hotel employees.**

**He thought briefly about thanking the other boy, being that he had lifted him off of the floor, but there was something very demeaning about the entire idea. Instead, he turned back to the television.**

**"Is that really how Muggles dress?" he asked, quietly incredulous. The bright colors and happy prints he could understand - contrary to popular opinion, he was not completely averse to color in a wardrobe. The hair, however... those pinned braids were absolutely unacceptable.**

* * *

Noah looked at the screen at the Slytherin's question, finally paying attention to it. He thought he recognized the voices and the faces… some show his grandmother watched, possibly. The woman dressed in blue made him grimace. "Uh… I guess some people do. Older people," he added in a lower voice.

He watched in silence for a minute, not really out of interest, but as a mean to delay what he had to say; even if he really, _really_ didn't want to. He had his pride, and he was giving up a great deal of it to apologize to the Slytherin.

"There's stew. In case you get hungry," he said as casually as he could manage, still looking intently at the screen where a cook with a Scottish accent went on about… something. "Since you can't get up to make something," he added.

_Merlin's pants, just get it over with!_' He told himself. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Look, I said some things I probably shouldn't have," he mumbled. "I don't know you, and you don't know me, so… you know…" Another long, uncomfortable silence. Or maybe it was only uncomfortable for Noah.

"So... Er, sorry..." He was looking intently at everything but Greengrass. "It's good you're back. At least now it's you who has to deal with her temper," he added quickly, nodding in the direction of the Slytherins' quarters.

* * *

**Ezra pondered this tidbit of information with all the bright-eyed wonder of a child learning a new subject, although it didn't show on his naturally solemn, well-structured face. He had never taken Muggle studies - his parents had forbidden it, and he had never been keen to disobey - so all of this was incredibly foreign to his pureblood sensibilities.**

**"I see," he said finally, pulling the blanket closer to his chin. At the mention of food, however, he craned his neck so that he could get a better look at the bowls on the table. If he was honest with himself, he was rather peckish, but the table was slightly more than arm's length away and he wasn't about to ask the Gryffindor to serve him.**

**He had a feeling that wouldn't go over well.**

**"Thank you," he said, his voice taking on the ultra-polite quality of those who are deliberately trying to avoid any offense. "It smells... nice."**

**He was almost certain that the boy hadn't cooked it himself, although he dared not voice that thought out loud lest he take it as an insult and split his skull in half.**

**Ezra kept his eyes determinedly glued to the television until this was no longer possible, largely because Noah had unwittingly stepped partially into his view and was now obscuring part of the screen. Then, he spoke; Ezra shifted a bit, studying the blond with dark, permanently half-lidded eyes.**

**"Yes," he agreed, somewhat awkwardly. He did, indeed, know. "Perhaps... my judgment of you was in error."**

**He wasn't sure if he really thought this or not, but he was too weak to argue and he really didn't want anything to interrupt his watching of Crossroads for any extended length of time. As Noah squeezed out an apology, Ezra looked to him and then back to the television, feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the sensory stimulation.**

**He really rather preferred the silence to the apology, all things considered; when someone apologized to you, it was simply good manners to accept. Now he had no choice.**

**"That's... alright," he said slowly in his posh London accent, which was slightly exaggerated when compared with the ridiculous voices on the television. At the mention of Dan, though, he offered a wry smirk.**

**"Oh," he said, knowingly. "You think you've gotten off. I assure you, Ledger, there's plenty of feminine fury to go around in times like these."**

* * *

Noah nodded, at the lack of something to say. He looked at the door to his side of the condo. He should leave now, that he'd done what he had to do and the conversation had remained civil. It was good progress, in his opinion.

Ezra's smirk surprised him, especially because it wasn't followed by a malicious comment towards him. He huffed out what could've been a laugh. "I'm surprised I'm not dead after the killing looks she gave me, before you returned."

He slipped his hands into his pockets and took a small step away, then stopped again, accessing his rival. "I don't know if we'll ever be friends, but we do want the same thing, I think. I want to keep Jo safe, you want to keep her safe. And they'll stick together." He offered the other boy a shrug and turned away, not before saying, "Who would've thought, maybe we'll have to work as a team."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**"Presenting your 1978 Junior Tranmere Rovers," drawled Avery Rosier as he read a tiny headline on the back page of the sports section. The 25-year-old folded a copy of the Liverpool Echo, a Muggle paper, in his hands; the pictures didn't move, but it was still easy to spot him... that insufferable Gryffindor.**

**"How quaint."**

**He looked over at his companion, Logan Hawke, and smiled a small, feral smile. This mission hadn't been his first choice by far; he had joined up with the Death Eaters for other, bigger reasons. But as soon as he'd heard that this operation might lead to the capture of his dear cousin, he had been sold.**

**His aunt and uncle Greengrass were sure to pay well for the return of their only son.**

**"Ready?" he asked silkily, watching the younger boy carefully. He had already failed once; he was going to have to stick close.**

* * *

Logan studied the picture. Oh yes, he recognized that face, he remembered seeing the boy dressed in red and gold, always in Potter's shadow. By then, Logan was too old to care much about Quidditch anymore, but he remembered him.

He met the other man's eyes. He hadn't been pleased to be assigned to a partner. He didn't need a babysitter. But he had more important things to think about, and it wasn't like he was going to complain to the Greengrasses.

He finished his beer. "Oh yes, I am ready. Who's going to approach him first, you or me? I doubt he remembers me."

* * *

**"You can do the talking," said Avery, as though he was doing the other boy a favor by letting him take the spotlight. The truth was that he didn't have as much of a way with words - he was much more proficient at hexing people than reasoning with them - and he definitely didn't have the patience to deal with some thickheaded Gryffindor.**

**The pair left without tipping, slipping out of the small cafe and into the street. One man in a suit bumped Avery on the shoulder as he walked by; the man turned, looked momentarily bewildered, and then apologized to him.**

**Avery couldn't keep the disgust from his face; he brushed his shoulder with a small shudder of displeasure.**

**"If only the Dark Lord would rise overnight," he said darkly, falling into step behind Hawke. "The bloody things breed like rodents. Fitting, though, I suppose."**

**They came to a stop in front of a small, run-down building. People could be seen inside using various exercise machines. The sign hung on the inside of the glass door read OPEN.**

**"Shall we?"**

* * *

Logan spent the time they took to get to the building thinking how to approach the boy. He had no desire of getting anywhere near him. He was a half-blood Gryffindor and he and the mudblood… his lips twisted at the thought.

He forced himself to bury those feelings; the whole plan depended on him fooling that idiot long enough to find his sister. He needed to take her away from those people as soon as possible. As long as the boy didn't get all weird on him, he could disguise his feelings long enough.

He put on his most charming smile and sweet talked the young woman behind the reception desk that they only needed to deliver a message to his buddy Mr. Ledger and she gladly and oh, so helpfully, told them where to find him. They entered the room with all the Muggle exercise machines.

It wasn't difficult to find his target. The bulky boy was standing by a row of machines, arms crossed, saying something to a woman who was propped on a machine with pedals that simulated a bicycle.

He ran his hand over his hair, ruffling it a bit and stood near another bicycle, far enough from the woman that she wouldn't hear them, and drew Ledger's attention. "Do you work here, mate?"

Ledger looked up and around, studied him for a moment and nodded. He said something else to the woman and approached.

Noah narrowed his eyes as he studied the other man, disoriented. There was something very familiar about him, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"How long do you think I should do this?" The man asked, then lowered his voice. "Never thought I'd see Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain working for Muggles."

Noah nodded absentmindedly; he couldn't take his eyes off of the man. His eyes were piercing through him and made him slightly uneasy, but he was no trouble to look at. "Yeah, I…" He paused, shocked. His eyes widened. "How do you know…?"

"How do I know who you are? Or what you were in Hogwarts?" The man gave a lopsided smile, and Noah's stomach gave an odd little jump. He cleared his throat and nodded again.

The man offered a hand to shake his, his face all too serious now. "I'm Hawke. Logan Hawke. I suspect you recognize the name."

Noah took a step back immediately, his expression hardened. He untangled his arms, ready to fight. "What do you want?"

Hawke raised an eyebrow and his hand drooped. "I see he's been poisoning you already," he said, sounding sad and resigned. "That was quick. I've come to warn you about Ezra Greengrass. And to offer my help, because even though my sister and I have our issues," he paused for a moment, looking troubled. "I just want her to be safe."

Noah looked over the man's shoulder, to the other man approaching them. Every muscle in his body tensed. His blood was racing, his thoughts were racing. Every time instinct told him to run, suspicion made him stay. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Logan followed the younger boy's eyes and saw Avery approaching. "That's Avery. Greengrass's cousin. He has been helping me. If you come with us, we-"

"Save it, Hawke. I'm not interested." Noah looked around. There were at least a dozen Muggles in sight. He wondered if that mattered to those two. He took another step back, then another.

He started to turn away when Hawke's deep, slightly drawled out voice reached him and crawled over his skin, giving him a chill. "Did he tell you how he got hurt the other night?"

Noah stopped in his tracks. "Yes. You attacked him; you nearly killed him."

Logan chuckled without humor.

"Oh really?" He leaned back against the bicycle. "I was in London. I arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, and I saw him just outside, talking to some suspicious looking men. They didn't look trustworthy at all. And then I saw them giving him money. A lot of money. So I confronted him, because I thought my sister was with him. But when I mentioned her, he attacked me. He must've felt cornered. I hoped I had made enough damage to keep him from going too far away, but he still managed to Disapparate."

Logan made a pause, letting his words sink in. Ledger was clearly caught off balance by that story. "He's not who you think he is. Just ask his cousin," he gestured to Avery.

* * *

**Avery watched the expressions on the blond boy's face shift from angry, to cautious, to interested... and really, interest was all that was required. Once the thought was there, it was all too easy to plant the seeds of doubt in a willing mind.**

**"I've known Ezra since he was born," Avery said, nodding at Logan and trying to look concerned. Then, he too lowered his voice and leaned forward. "He's always had a knack for magic, but recently - before he left home - he was learning some incredibly dark spells. Terrible, awful spells. He would go missing, hours at a time, lying about where he was... he broke his mother's heart."**

**He paused for effect, trying not to let his smugness leak into his heartfelt lying.**

**"We think he might be trying to join up with... with..." he pursed his lips, as though the mere thought gave him pain. He was doing quite well, really, he thought. He let the sentence trail off and die, peering up at Noah's face to see his reaction.**

* * *

Noah shook his head. No, it couldn't be. Ezra was arrogant and full of himself with those pureblood ideas, but he wasn't… he wasn't really evil…

But, then again, how would _he_ know? The Slytherin barely talked to anyone other than Daniella, and even between the two of them, things had been tense since the incident in London. But that didn't mean he would be capable of…

'_with the Death Eaters_', were the words left unsaid. He swallowed hard at the thought. He looked at the two men. Looked at the face of the man the others seemed so scared of. Logan disturbed him in more than one way, but he seemed sincerely worried about Daniella when he'd mentioned her. But Jo had told him about the things he'd done to Jo's family. The things he'd done teaming up with Ezra, in fact. He didn't think he could trust Logan Hawke, but something told him maybe he couldn't trust Ezra either, until they had a little talk. And the thought of a Death Eater living under their roof…

Someone called him from the entrance, snapping him out of his dark thoughts. "Ledger, your shift is over. Jones is here, you can leave when you're done."

"I have to go," he said abruptly, leaving toward the staff locker room, glad they couldn't follow him there. He had to talk to someone, he didn't know what to think. And there was only one person he could safely share his concerns with. Having made his decision, he showered and changed back into his own clothes, then left through the staff's back door, making his way to the docks.

* * *

**Josiah was on break, swinging his feet over the edge of the northmost dock and enjoying a cold soda and a sandwich. It wasn't so bad, really, this job; being on the river was one of his favorite things, and he loved to watch the boats go in and out, coming home after a long sail or starting a long journey to other parts of the country.**

**The heat, though, he could do without.**

**He had almost finished his sandwich and his break when a shadow clouded the sun from behind him. He turned, feeling a jolt of panic run through him - the other night's events had left him shaken, and he almost reached for his wand in his pocket. At the sight of his boyfriend's face, however, he breathed a sigh of relief.**

**"Hi, you," he said, smiling. "I don't get off for another hour, you know that."**

**He paused, shielding his eyes with one hand so he could get a better look at Noah's face. The other boy was frowning, looking troubled.**

**"What's wrong?"**

* * *

Noah looked around and, after making sure they were alone, sat next to his boyfriend. He had been rehearsing how to explain to him what had happened without making him panic, but now he had forgotten all of his practiced speech.

"How much do you trust Greengrass? I mean, really, really trust him?"

* * *

**Jo looked momentarily confused.**

**He thought about it.**

**"I don't know," he said uncertainly, wondering where this conversation was leading. "He has his flaws, sure, but I don't think he's..."**

**Prejudiced? Well, no, that wasn't true. The Slytherin still flinched from his touch at times; he knew it was instinctive, and a hard habit to break, but he couldn't deny that it hurt his feelings, especially since he'd gone to so much trouble to save his life.**

**"I mean, if he was going to murder us, I reckon he'd have done it by now?"**

**The inflection at the end made it a question, as though he wasn't entirely sure if it was true or not, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances.**

**"Why?"**

* * *

"What if he's trying to keep us close or control us for some other reason?" Noah guessed. He huffed. "What if he's hiding something? I mean, first he disappears every day, to 'find a job', according to him, but he always came back with nothing; then, he disappears and returns with all that money, bleeding all over the place! If it was his all along, why didn't he get it before? And he always has that look, like he doesn't want to be there."

Noah looked away, at the river. So many theories had crossed his mind on his way there, each one worse than the other. But the things Logan had said… He hadn't seemed as bad as they'd wanted him to believe.

He looked at Josiah again. "Look, don't freak out, but I saw Daniella's brother today. Well, he found me, to be more accurate." And he told Jo about the conversation he'd had with the two strangers and their warnings.

* * *

**"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say he's controlling us," Josiah said diplomatically, trying to let his reason win out over his constant, nagging fear. "He's just a... a naturally surly person, I think... some people are like that, you know..."**

**He trailed off and fell silent as Noah started to talk about the job hunt, and Josiah winced slightly, because the thought had already crossed his mind on more than one occasion. He'd always chalked up Ezra's inability to find Muggle employment normal - at least, for the first week or so. He knew the Slytherin needed time to adjust, but after that...**

**He had wondered, secretly, if Ezra had really wanted to find a job at all. But he'd never thought of it in this context.**

**The Ravenclaw searched for any shred of hope to cling to, but came up short. If he was rational about the entire situation, and he generally was, there was no way to know that Ezra had really been searching for a job that entire time. They had taken his word for it, mostly because Dan had taken his word for it, and he had seemed so frustrated, it hadn't been very hard to believe.**

**"You what?" Jo said suddenly, looking horrified. "How did he find you? Noah-"**

**His mouth snapped shut as he remembered that Noah had asked him not to panic, and he listened silently as he detailed the conversation that he'd had with the two men.**

**Josiah shook his head.**

**"I don't know," he said, feeling a bit desperate now. He couldn't say that Ezra was totally blameless, but at the same time... "Logan has done some... I mean, he's really..."**

**He shook his head again, not wanting to believe.**

**"We need to talk to Dan," he said finally, looking at his rippled reflection in the water with furrowed eyebrows. "She knows both of them better than either of us. I want to know what she thinks."**

* * *

"Is he really that bad? I mean, I know he threatened you before and he's done some nasty stuff. I'm not saying he is a good person, or that we should trust him, but…" Noah paused, then asked, "What if we can't trust Greengrass either?"

He nodded in agreement. "You're right, she has to know. When can you leave? We should find her before she gets home. Greengrass will be there."

* * *

**Josiah looked back at his coworkers, who were busy loading things onto a large fishing trawler, and sighed. He hated to leave early, because he needed the money and he liked to finish what he started, but at the same time...**

**This was important. Maybe even life-or-death important.**

**"I'll go now, just give me a moment to let the boss know," he said. His brows were still furrowed. He rose to his feet, picked up his soda bottle, and stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth hurriedly. When he returned, he looked a little meek.**

**"Come on," he murmured, starting for the nearest street. "Gosh, he was livid, I had to tell him I was having a family emergency."**

**He pursed his lips worriedly, hoping that he wasn't, indeed, having a family emergency. With Logan involved, he could never be sure.**

**It took them about ten minutes to walk to the restaurant that Dan worked in from the docks, and the bell on the door chimed merrily as they entered. It was moderately crowded, but not packed; the smells made Josiah hungry all over again. Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he starting looking back into the kitchens for Dan.**

**"Dan?" he called through the open service window.**

* * *

Noah peeked into the kitchen over Jo's shoulder, but the face that showed up in front of them belonged to a scrawny young man, probably around their age. "What are you doing? You can't come in here!" He attempted to shove them out of the way.

"Where's Daniella Hawke?" Noah asked. "Can you call her for us? It's important."

The lad raised his cap slightly and scratched his head.

"The boss won't be happy with her, but I'll get her, if it's that important…" Turning his head into the kitchen, he shouted. "Hey, Dan! There's someone here for you!"

Daniella's boss was standing in the furthest corner of the kitchen, talking to one of the cooks. She looked up from the pile of potatoes and gave him a questioning glance. His eyes were partially lidded with disapproval, but he waved her off, showing her an open hand.

Five minutes. She put down the knife, dried her hands and pushed the swing doors open, wondering who would come here looking for her at this hour. She found Jo and Noah waiting, looking grim. She proceeded with caution.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

**"We need to talk," said Josiah immediately, pulling her through the back door nearby and into the back alley, which was quiet and dark. Despite all of this, Josiah pulled out his wand and quickly, non-verbally, cast a couple of Charms.**

**And, despite the Charms, he still lowered his voice to a whisper.**

**"Logan found Noah at work. He had Rosier with him, Ezra's cousin, and they said... well, they said that we shouldn't trust him, that he might have been going off places, and that he lied to us about what happened the other night, and... they said... they said that he might be trying to join up with You-Know-Who."**

**Josiah took a deep breath, feeling a bit winded after packing so much information into such a short span of time.**

**"And then I told Noah that we needed to talk to you, because you know them both better than either of us, and..."**

**He looked pleadingly at his best friend.**

**"I don't want to believe it, Dan, I really don't, but what if it's true?"**

* * *

Daniella stared hazedly at the two of them. It took a few moments for the words to sink in.

"That's ridiculous!" She denied, but a strange cold settled around her heart. "It's not true. It not!" Daniella shook her head, anxiety and denial warring inside her. _It's not true_. "He was hurt, you saw him! He came back, and… and he ran away from his home… he wouldn't… he wouldn't join…" She shuddered at the thought.

Most of the time, she had to guess what he was thinking. He said he loved her, but he acted on his own terms, doing whatever he wanted, with no regard for her feelings. Like the night he'd disappeared; he just brushed the subject off everytime she tried to bring it up.

She backed away and sat on some haphazardly piled empty crates, closing her hands around her arms protectively. Of course it wasn't true, Logan had to be lying. Ezra wasn't like that, not anymore.

He'd changed. He had!

Hadn't he?

"Logan is lying," she said out loud, pushing away her doubts.

"I'm not lying, Dany." That voice chilled her to the bone.

* * *

**Josiah wanted to comfort her, to say something to take away the pain and anxiety she was feeling now, but he couldn't think of anything worth saying. They only had their instincts, and you couldn't always rely on instincts in a war.**

**Then, he heard Logan's voice.**

**His heart skipped a beat, or several, and he whipped around with his wand out so fast that a shot of golden sparks streamed out and sizzled on the pavement. Logan - and Rosier was with him.**

**"What are you two doing here," he said in a low, dangerous tone. Then, his eyes widened slightly in realization before narrowing instantly.**

**"You followed him." He motioned towards Noah slightly. "That's not exactly innocent behavior, Logan. If ye aren't lying, prove it. Tell us why we should believe you."**

**He positioned himself between Logan and Daniella, suddenly feeling fiercely protective. His wand hand was shaking as he waited for an explanation.**

* * *

Noah stood slightly to the side, unsure. He'd never known how to calm down upset people, so he let Jo handle the situation, but he snapped to attention at that voice. A second later, he was standing by Jo's side, wand in hand.

Logan's features hardened when they blocked Dany from his view. His hand closed around his wand, in his pocket, itchy to curse mudblood and the half-blood, but he controlled himself and forced his face to relax.

"Easy, boy. I just want to talk to my lil' sis, see if she's alright. No need to get all flustered."

There was a moment of tense silence before Daniella stood up. He smiled at the sight of her.

"Hey, Dany. You're too skinny! Aren't these blokes feeding you properly?"

"Answer him, Logan," Daniella said, coming around Jo and Noah to face her brother. He had grown a two day stubble, but otherwise he looked just like she remembered, including those cold, penetrating eyes.

Logan rolled his eyes and opened his arms. "Is that the way to greet me after all this time? _Tsc_, I wonder what sort of things he's been saying about me," he said sadly.

She ignored his offer, so he sighed and said more seriously, running his eyes over the trio. "My apologies, Ledger, but I had the best intentions when I followed you. You wouldn't tell me where my sister was otherwise. And I desperately needed to tell her what I found out…"

He took a step forward and wrapped his hand around Dany's arm. "You have to believe me, sis."

Daniella tensed when he grabbed her arm. "Let go of me, Logan," she said stiffly.

* * *

**"She's fine," Josiah said shortly, giving Logan a steely look. He looked after Dan worriedly; he wasn't sure that letting the two meet was a good idea. He only knew vaguely of Logan, and most of his memories of the other boy were bad ones. What he knew, however, is that Logan would do anything - literally _anything_ \- to keep Daniella 'safe' from whatever he perceived to be unfit for her.**

**"Let go of her and answer my question, Logan," Jo echoed, feeling the muscles in his wand arm flex involuntarily. "Why should we believe you? Why did you curse Ezra? What proof do you have that he isn't trustworthy?"**

**Avery, who had been leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant nonchalantly, rolled his eyes. Josiah glared at him.**

* * *

Logan raised his eyebrows at the mudblood, as if he was impressed. '_Trying to grow some bollocks, are you, boy?_' He thought. It made him want to laugh, but he restrained himself. He only had one chance to do this.

He let go of Dany's arm, raising his empty hands in surrender. "Alright, alright."

"What I told Ledger about the other night is true. I ran into Greengrass in the Leaky Cauldron and he attacked me. He didn't like that I asked too many questions. He cursed me. Dany, he used the Cruciatus curse on me, so I had to defend myself. That's why I hit him back. Just to make him stop. But then he Disapparated before I could get up, and I lost track of him."

He gave Dany his best pleading look, that had always worked in the past. "I know I come on too strong, sometimes, but I can't help it. You're my only sister, and mother would kill me if I let something happen to you." He glanced at Johnston, then back to Dany. "I did some things I shouldn't have, in the past. I know now what happened. I was blind with concern for you, but… that concern was used against me, and I was… forced to do some of the things that I did."

He gestured to Rosier standing behind him. "Avery here was the one who opened my eyes to it. How some people had been forced to do things against their will. Being cursed to do so. So we started digging deeper into it, and we found out that your boyfriend was being trained to join…" he lowered his voice. "You-Know-Who."

He could see the resistance in Dany's eyes, the suspicion. But he could also see the fear, the doubts. If he didn't make it work now, he wasn't entirely sure what Avery could do, so he used his last card. "I know you don't believe me yet, but you will. We've found out there's going to be an attack, soon." He paused to hold their attention and looked at Johnston. "They're going to attack Stonehaven, and Greengrass is involved up to his neck in those plans."

* * *

**Josiah lowered his wand slowly, brow knitted with concern. Not for Logan; to be honest, he couldn't care less whether Logan got hexed or not. But Dan cared. Dan cared about both of them. What if Ezra really had attacked Logan first? What if Logan really had been trying to keep him away from his sister?**

**It certainly sounded like something he would do.**

**Jo looked at Noah quickly, cautiously.**

**"You were under the Imperius Curse?" Josiah said, slightly incredulous. He'd heard of it, of course; everyone who had taken NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts had heard of it. He also knew that it was a very advanced bit of magic.**

**"It happened to me, too," said Avery, speaking for the first time. Josiah craned his neck around to see him better; he was partially hidden in the dim light. "Some nights I would come home, covered in mud and not able to remember where I had been. I don't know who cast it; I don't even have any way of remembering what I might have done. I was afraid to even tell anyone until Logan told me the same things had been happening to him..."**

**He trailed off, looking morose.**

**Josiah faltered.**

**"What does that have to do with Ezra?" he asked finally, not entirely convinced. "I just don't see... he's been living with us for months-"**

**"Ezra will make you believe whatever he wants you to believe," Avery said flatly. "He's been loyal to the cause for years. Don't you see? He was trying to run from you. He told Logan as much. If he hadn't been injured, he would have taken off with his money and joined up that very night. A man like that doesn't change."**

**Jo shook his head. If it was hard for him to hear...**

**He looked over at Dan, feeling helpless. When Logan mentioned Stonehaven, it took all of his willpower to avoid the tears that threatened to well in his eyes.**

**He had trusted Ezra, stood up for him. Worried about him. Cared for him.**

* * *

Dan wasn't sure how she was still standing.

_A man like that doesn't change._

Why was it so hard to breathe?

She listened in silence, each word another stab on an already bruised heart. There was no way to avoid it. She'd been betrayed by either her brother or by the person she had so foolishly given her heart to. And she didn't know who to believe; who to trust.

Could she really believe Logan? Had he really just been trying to help her all along?

She walked away from all of them, needing the space, and leaned against a wall, hiding her face on her hands. She remembered very vividly how she'd felt when Ezra told her Logan had attacked him, and now Logan was telling her the opposite.

_A man like that doesn't change._ But he had changed. In the last few months… she couldn't believe it had all been a lie, all that time together, all the times he'd said he loved her. He _was_ changing…

The mention of Stonehaven made her snap to attention. "Why do you say that? How is he involved?" She walked up to Logan until she was inches away from his face and grabbed at the front of his shirt. "Is it Jo's family?"

Logan held her wrists carefully, releasing himself from her grip. Now that he finally had her in his reach, he wanted to just take her away from there. He could just Disapparate and they would never find his baby sister again.

But he needed to convince her or she would just run away again on the first opportunity, so instead, he said, "I don't know, Dany. I really don't know. We couldn't get any more information, it was too dangerous. But you will know, when it happens. They said it was going to be grand."

Looking in his sister's eyes, he knew he had her. The seeds of doubt had been successfully planted in her mind. Walking away now was the final, perfect touch. If that didn't convince them, nothing else would.

He looked at his partner seriously, then at the credulous group. "We should go now. And don't worry, we won't follow you. We don't want Greengrass to feel trapped by us just yet. We will try to find out more." He put his hands on each side of Daniella's face and kissed her forehead gingerly. "Be careful, Dany. Stay safe and I'll come back for you when you believe me."

Merlin's beard, he should have been an actor. He clenched his teeth to keep the serious face and let go of his incredibly upset sister.

* * *

**The group of three stood in silence after the two older boys had retreated. Josiah was very still; slowly, he slid his wand back into his pocket, hiding it from view.**

**He remembered, painfully, the day that Ezra had come crashing into Stonehaven with Dan in tow. He had taken him to his favorite inn. He had told Frank that he was a friend from school. He had given him money, given him food, taught him to make a Patronus. He had defended him to his other friends, given him the benefit of the doubt.**

**He had soaked his hands with blood trying to save his life. And yet, all that time...**

**"Let's go home," he whispered, shaking his head lightly. They would have to confront him sooner rather than later. "If he really was trying to leave, nothing will stop him from doing it while we're away. He's already mostly healed up."**

* * *

"He wouldn't go without telling m-" Daniella stopped. Hadn't he done exactly that a few days ago?

She couldn't look at any of them. She'd insisted and pleaded and practically forced Jo to accept Ezra. "I need to get changed…" she murmured tensely, disappearing into the restaurant before they could say anything.

Noah looked at Jo. "Well, that was… intense." He shook his head. He wasn't exactly an emotional person, but if he had a little sister, he would probably be as protective of her as he'd seen Logan being, just then. Except he would've gone with her to break the face of whoever was breaking her heart like that.

"What do you think she's going to do now?" he asked in a low voice.

* * *

**After Dan had disappeared back into the building to change, Josiah shook his head in response to Noah's question.**

**"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I just can't believe... it all fits, but I really thought..."**

**He trailed off, not really needing to say more. Ezra had fooled all of them, even Daniella, apparently, who had been so close to him. Anyone who could lie that well was dangerous on their own, but the fact that he was trying to join You-Know-Who made him infinitely more so.**

**As they waited, more and more awful thoughts piled into Josiah's mind.**

**"He might try to run," he said to Noah, worried. "I mean, he's already tried, I suppose, but... he could try anything."**

**The thought gave him a chill.**

**It was then that Daniella came back, and Jo looked up at her sympathetically and pulled her into a hug.**

**"Whatever happens," he told her, speaking softly into her hair. "I won't leave you. We'll stay together no matter what, okay?"**

* * *

"Maybe it would be better if he did run away. Easier for her, at least," Noah murmured, but he fell silent when Daniella returned.

Daniella clung to Jo for a long time; she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "What do I do, Jo?" she whispered. "Ezra wouldn't do this to me. He couldn't…" Could she have been so wrong all along?

Jo's promise helped her regain some sort of composure.

"Okay," she said weakly. She pulled away and wiped the tears with a sleeve. Blinking repeatedly to clear her eyes, she finally said, "Let's ask him."


	20. Attack in Stonehaven

_**Chapter 20 - Attack in Stonehaven**_

It was the longest walk of Daniella's life, but when they arrived at the condo, she wished it had been longer. She was still shaking, so Noah took the keys from her hands and opened the door. They stood back, waiting for her to take the lead.

Ezra was sprawled on the sofa, charming as always. It hurt to look at him. She tried to push the doubts away, tried to believe him even when the rest of the world pointed its accusing finger at him, like she'd done before, but she couldn't. Logan had left that horrible seed of doubt in her heart.

Words clogged her throat and she couldn't say anything. Noah moved behind her, in a position that allowed him to block the door but also reach the sofa quickly if necessary. Jo stood next to her. "Ezra?" She asked in a raspy voice. "What really happened in London?"

* * *

**One episode of Crossroads had just finished and another was beginning when Ezra heard the key turn in the tumbler of the front door. He craned his neck, looking to see who it was, and saw his girlfriend and their two housemates file into the condo and shut the door behind them.**

**They all looked serious; Ezra was instantly aware that something wasn't right.**

**"You're home early," he said, lowly, cautiously. His brown-black eyes scanned her face, which was red and splotchy in places. "Have you been crying?"**

**She ignored him and asked a question of her own.**

**He stared at her a moment, perplexed. He shifted stiffly into a sitting position and knitted his brow.**

**"With Logan?" he said, to confirm. "I told you - I went to Gringotts, withdrew all the galleons in my account, and exchanged them. The goblins must have tipped off my parents; I don't know how he would have known otherwise, unless he was just waiting there, but he ambushed me in the alley. We had a duel, and he cursed me. I Apparated back here."**

**There was a long, pregnant pause. Why did everything suddenly feel so claustrophobic?**

**"What's going on?" he demanded, examining each of them in turn.**

* * *

"You told me…" Daniella repeated, and suddenly she couldn't keep it inside anymore. She took a few steps closer to him, needing to see the truth in his eyes. "You gave me a report, alright. But you didn't explain to me why you suddenly felt the urge to get such a ridiculous amount of money. Or why would the goblins care if you were there or not?"

* * *

**Daniella stepped closer to him, closing in, and he felt a spark of anger at being challenged all of a sudden. Why this, now? He had thought that his motives had been clear - he had been trying to help the others pay the bills in the only way that he was able.**

**"I beg your pardon?" he said quietly. "Because I couldn't find a job, and we needed the money. I knew it would be dangerous. I wasn't going to go to London unless I absolutely had to, but I had no choice-"**

**"How do we know you were actually looking for a job?" Josiah chimed in, shifting on his feet. Ezra gave him a stunned look that simmered into a scorching glare.**

**"Because I told you so," Ezra said hotly, his voice rising. "Because that's where I was. I didn't realize that all of my actions were suspect, so I didn't keep a time card, but I assure you - I tried."**

**He looked back to Daniella, his voice still rich with passion but his eyes full of a silent plea.**

**"I don't know if it was the goblins or not. Maybe it wasn't. But my parents could have paid them - goblins will do almost anything for money."**

**He searched her eyes.**

**"Why are you doing this?"**

* * *

Daniella tried with all in her to keep her self-control, but it was proving very difficult. "Yes. You _knew_ it would be dangerous! And yet, you went without a word, and who cares if Dan comes home and there's no sign of you, and who cares if you return covered in blood, as long as your ego isn't bruised!"

"I would've gone with you to London, Greengrass," Noah said, gravely. "Despite our differences, despite that argument, I would've helped. But you didn't say anything. Every day, you go out on your own, and you just expect us to take your word for it?"

Daniella met Ezra's eyes. She wanted to believe him, so badly it hurt. "Why? Because my brother told me a different story today. He told me you were going to run away with that money, he told me that you attacked him when he tried to stop you. Now, tell me, Ezra, who should I believe?"

* * *

**Ezra managed to keep a leash on his temper until she brought up his ego. At those words, he hauled himself to his feet, incensed.**

**"My ego is the only thing keeping you lot in the green," he hissed, making a sweeping gesture with his hand at the three of them. "We would have gotten kicked out of here if I hadn't gone. The rent is due in two days. You know that."**

**He shook his head disbelievingly.**

**"You knew when you accepted me as your boyfriend - I don't take orders or ask for permission, and neither do you. I can't live on a chain, Daniella. I did what I thought was right, and I accomplished what I set out to accomplish. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but you don't understand what it's like."**

**He bit back some harsher words before he said anything he would really, truly regret.**

**"You don't know what it's like to be the only one in the house who can't hold his own. You got a job in the first week, and you fell in love with it. Don't you understand?"**

**Ezra gave Noah a cutting sideways glance.**

**"Yes, that sounds like it would have been jolly good fun," he said icily. "If you had gone, he probably would have had your damn head. Be grateful I took that curse instead of you."**

**It was Daniella's admission, however, that stopped his heart for a moment.**

**"Your brother is here?" he said immediately, clenching his jaw. That son of a bitch - he'd known that Logan would find a way to track them down sooner or later. "How did he find us? I thought you said you put Charms on the condo," he said to Josiah, slightly accusatory.**

**"There's nothing wrong with my bloody Charmwork," Jo retorted, huffy. "He found Noah at work, that's how, but I don't see how that's any of your bloody business."**

**"It's my bloody business because he's going to kill you!" Ezra shouted, leaning forward with the intensity of his anger. "He would love nothing more than to watch your blood run on the pavement, Johnston!"**

**The sudden rise of his voice made the room seem eerily quiet afterward; he closed his eyes and tried to remember to breathe. Then, he addressed Daniella again.**

**"Look, I don't know what he told you, but he came after me. You know there is money on my head, Daniella. There has been for months. I don't know what you're implying, but I would never..." he trailed off, looking wounded. He had never been a particularly emotional person on the surface; perhaps the most frustrating thing about him was that he preferred to keep his emotions to himself. But to accuse him of trying to take the money and run... that was too much.**

* * *

"There's a difference between living on a chain and sharing," Daniella said quietly, sadly. Was that really how he felt living with her? Chained? Didn't he know that she would rather live under the bridge, if it meant they were both safe and sound? "How would you feel if I disappeared without telling you were I was going, without at least leaving a message so you wouldn't panic when you came home, thinking I was dead on some gutter out there? Especially when there are people after us. Tell me, how can I understand, if you don't talk about it? You just say it's fine and change the subject."

She closed her eyes at the words about Logan. He was right. She knew he was. She didn't know if she believed her brother had been forced to do such things or not. She didn't know anything anymore. She nodded tiredly.

"Alright, Ezra," she said slowly, searching his eyes. She'd been avoiding this question because it hurt too much to think about it. "I just want you to be honest with me. Is there something you haven't told me? About why you ran away from home, maybe?"

* * *

**"I was upset," Ezra replied, suddenly sounding and feeling overwhelmingly tired. "I wasn't thinking clearly. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."**

**He didn't understand why they were ganging up on him when Logan had shown up at Noah's workplace and was probably following their every move, waiting for the perfect time to strike.**

**Daniella stared into his eyes, and he stared back. For a moment, he thought she was going to forgive him. Instead, she asked him a question that was so strange he wasn't entirely sure what to make of it.**

**"What?" he said, dumbly. "No, why would there be?"**

**He looked up and realized that they were all looking at him very, very intently. He sighed, exasperated.**

**"Whatever he told you - I know he's very persuasive, but I haven't done anything. I have no idea what you all are talking about. If you tell me what happened, maybe I can help you figure it out. Either way, we can't stay here. He's dangerous."**

* * *

He looked sincerely lost. But her brother had looked sincere too. And both of them had a history of lying to her. She could believe Ezra's account of what happened in London, she could push away the doubts and put her heart in his hands once more. But the rest of what Logan had told her… She didn't know what to think of it.

"Oh, yes, he is persuasive. But so are you." She told him the rest of the conversation in a monotonous, tired voice. "Logan said he'd been forced to do some of the things he did, by someone, he doesn't know whom. And he said that when he found out about it, he started digging." She paused. She wanted to look at Jo for support, but she didn't want to miss anything Ezra's face could tell her.

"He found out that you had been receiving a special kind of training, for quite some time now," she forced the rest of the words out. "That you were preparing to join You-Know-Who. He implied that all this time when you were gone all day, you were meeting someone for that training, and not looking for a job."

The air could be cut through with a knife. Like everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see what Ezra would say.

"So, I will ask again, Ezra. Is there something you haven't told me?"

* * *

**Ezra narrowed his eyes at Daniella, unimpressed by her tone. After all they'd been through… this is what it came down to. She didn't trust him. Maybe she never had.**

**He huffed out a small, hollow laugh.**

**"So that's how he justified it," he said dryly, rolling his eyes. Oh, how clever! How incredibly, terribly clever. And untrue. "The Imperius Curse, he says? Funny, you'd think he would go to the Auror Department with information like that. They have ways of telling, you know. But no - I'd imagine he wouldn't want to do that."**

**His gaze settled on her, darkly.**

**They thought he was a Death Eater. That's what this was about. Logan had been furious that he'd gotten away, so he'd regrouped in London and come to ruin Ezra's life the slow, painful way. He'd lied to them, gotten to them before Ezra could protest, and planted the seeds that would effectively make him an outcast, thinking that he would come out of hiding if he had no other alternative.**

**Logan thought that, if he didn't have anywhere to go, he would go running home to his mother and his house elves.**

**Ezra couldn't help himself; he laughed again.**

**"You've made up your mind, haven't you?" he asked quietly. "Nothing I can say at this point will make any difference."**

**He shook his head.**

**"What are you planning at Stonehaven?" Josiah cut across him sharply, unable to contain himself any longer. Ezra raised his head and gave the other boy a long, hard stare.**

**"Well, I wasn't aware that I had any plans in Stonehaven, but since you asked-"**

**"Cut the shit," the Ravenclaw hissed. He had drawn his wand. Ezra stared at it as though it was only mildly interesting. "If you touch my family, I will find you, and I will make you pay."**

**They really had already made up their minds. He recognized a no-win situation when he saw one; gently, non-threateningly, he ran a hand over his front pocket to make sure that his wand was there. It was.**

**"I hate to say it, but you're probably going to regret this," he told them in a low voice. "And when you do - think of me."**

**He looked at Daniella; his jaw was set, but his heart was broken.**

**"Don't bother to wait up," he whispered. He cracked into a column of black smoke, and was gone.**

* * *

Daniella's heart grew colder with each word he said. All she needed was one answer. One answer and she would believe him. If he said it was a lie, she would believe him. If he said it was true, she would help him get out of the situation. She would stand by his side; if he stood by hers.

He disappeared, instead. He left her. She stared at the empty space where he'd stood, so terrifyingly beautiful. He was really gone. She'd never felt so alone.

"See, he wouldn't even answer!" Noah said, furious. "He got scared. That can only mean one thing."

_It means I lost him_, Daniella thought, that terrible truth slowly sinking in. She didn't know what else was true in that story, but she knew _that_ was true.

"Ezra?" She whispered, in such a low voice he wouldn't have heard her even if he was there.

She fell to the closest chair by the table – a chair he'd created – and buried her face in her arms. What had she done?

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_A week later_

**Avery put his thick-soled boots up on the long, glossy meeting table. He and Logan had rented a small conference room just for the afternoon in the Adelphi Hotel, right in the heart of Liverpool. Logan had told him that his sister would be coming; that was half an hour ago.**

**"They're late," he drawled, putting his head back in the stiff chair and closing his eyes. "Merlin's beard, I wish we could just grab her and get out of this hellhole. The Muggle stench is choking me."**

**He opened his eyes to survey Logan critically.**

**"What are we going to do if they don't come?"**

* * *

"They'll come," Logan said impatiently, rubbing the knuckles of his fingers. "We have to do this right, or she'll just escape again. You don't know her like I do, she can be very stubborn when she wants to go against her family's wishes."

He returned the look irritably. "She'll come."

Daniella didn't want to be there. She hadn't shown up for work after what happened, she had barely gotten out of bed. Ezra's absence was an open wound in her chest that ached all day and all night. She had never thought she'd miss him so badly. She hadn't realized how important he was in her life, how necessary.

Earlier that day, she'd gotten two notes: one was a warning from her boss that she needed to focus or someone else could do the job for her, with more enthusiasm. The second note was from Logan, saying he had news. Urgent.

She'd shared the note with the others, and they'd decided it was worth checking it out. It could be about Stonehaven, so, for Jo, she agreed to go. He'd stayed by her side, she would stay by his side too. She couldn't stand to lose anyone else.

"This is it," she said, when they stopped in front of a large, imposing building with the words "Adelphi Hotel" out front. "Let's get this over with."

They were quickly guided to the right room. They were expected, the man in the uniform said.

* * *

**Jo still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but Noah seemed to think that it was highly likely that Ezra was truly guilty. To be honest, he thought so too; the way he had just Apparated out of the condo without even defending himself properly was incredibly suspicious. Every time he thought back to that argument, he felt an odd little twinge in his chest that was a mixture of sadness, anger, and anxiety.**

**The hotel that Logan had told them to meet him at was massive, as was to be expected from someone like Logan. It was white, and it had pillars, and according to the plaque on the front it had been constructed in 1914 and had once hosted the Queen.**

**They passed through the ornate double doors, and he sighed with relief at the feeling of the air conditioner. A tall man in a suit who might have been security came up to meet them, and then led them down a small hallway and into a moderately-sized business room where Logan and Avery were sitting.**

**Josiah sat, too, trying to stay as close to Noah and Dan as possible. He reached over and gave Dan's hand an encouraging squeeze.**

**"What is he planning?" Jo whispered, after a long pause. "Tell me. Please."**

* * *

Logan took a long, accessing look at Daniella. He concealed a victory grin. His plan had worked. She had dark smudges under her eyes from lack of sleep, her eyes were dull and distant and she looked about to either explode or burst into tears at the wrong word.

"Hey, Dany," he said softly, trying to reach her. She flinched, avoiding his touch and sat on the furthest chair from him.

At Johnston's words he had to discipline his face to not show his aversion. "Well, obviously, we have no way of knowing for sure," he said, leaning back and crossing his legs at the knees. "But he's been very busy this past week. There have been sightings of strange, dark creatures in the harbor, late at night. We couldn't get our sources to be more accurate, unfortunately," he added, as the Gryffindor and his sister raised an eyebrow at him. "Could be Dementors, could be something worse…"

He surveyed them all, one by one. "We do know it's going to happen today, though. That's why I sad it was urgent. We need to get there within the hour, or the whole village will be in danger."

* * *

**Josiah furrowed his eyebrows at this response; he had not come all this way for Logan to suck up to Daniella and avoid his questions. They had taken his side, effectively. If he was telling the truth, and Ezra was the one responsible for these horrible things that were going to happen, he could at least pretend to care.**

**Somewhere deep inside of him, a tiny flare of doubt emerged.**

**"Your sources," Jo repeated hollowly. He took a brief moment to wonder who these sources might be. How many people were in this network? Were there other people like Logan and Avery, who had been under the Imperius Curse? Was there a group of people planning to fight Ezra and the Death Eaters outside of Ministry Control?**

**"Well, I'm ready when you are," he murmured, chancing a sideways glance at Dan and Noah. "What do you guys think?"**

* * *

"I say we get moving," Noah said, decidedly. The last week had been so tense, he just wanted to do something and stop feeling like he was useless. If something was going to happen, he wanted to be there.

Daniella had her doubts. But then again, she'd doubted everything and everyone for the past week, so maybe it was just habit. It had all sounded odd, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. Ezra had been very busy? Strange, dark creatures? "Who, exactly, have you been talking to?" She asked abruptly.

Logan exchanged a look with Avery. He needed to get them to Stonehaven now.

"We have contacts near Stonehaven. Come on, we can't waste any more time." He walked to the door, made sure no Muggles were coming in, and locked it from the inside. "We'll meet by the docks." And, without waiting for them to make any more uncomfortable questions, he Disapparated.

* * *

**Josiah appeared in his own backyard with a crack; the others wouldn't be able to see him here, because the house was still Charmed, but that was probably for the better. Without skipping a beat, he put his forehead against the kitchen window and checked inside.**

**They weren't there. He sighed, relieved. Even if the harbor got destroyed somehow... it would mean they would have to find a new source of livelihood, but at least they wouldn't get caught in anything that would cost them their lives.**

**He made his way around to the front yard and, after a deep breath to steady his nerves, let himself out the front gate.**

**He knew what was wrong immediately after he stepped outside of his enchantments. A feeling of dread settled into his chest and stayed there, like a fifty-pound weight that wouldn't budge. It started to drizzle; he looked up at the dark gray sky, and what he saw made his heart jump.**

**Dementors. Almost a hundred of them, swarming overhead.**

**"Dan? Noah?" he called out, running for the docks. He found them and hurried over, whipping out his wand. "Merlin, they're everywhere," he said, slightly panicked. He looked around for Logan and Avery, wondering where they were.**

**More importantly, if this was all Ezra's plan, where was he?**

**"Do you see anyone?" he whispered to them frantically.**

* * *

Daniella was staring at the sky in shock as Josiah came closer. Dementors? How on earth could Ezra control that many Dementors?! "This doesn't make any sense," she murmured, tightening her grip on her wand.

She met Jo's eyes. "This isn't right," she said, but a heavy, chilling sense of dread was starting to fill her. She hadn't actually felt a Dementor ever before, even if she knew what they did. Nothing had prepared her for that.

"Sweet Merlin's boots," Noah said next to them. He looked around, "I don't… there!" He pointed somewhere behind the others. "Logan and Avery are coming."

"Uh, Jo?" Daniella called. She hadn't turned around, she was still focused on the dark hooded figures coming down onto the roads. "How are we going to handle so many of them? What about the Muggles?"

* * *

**"No, it doesn't make any sense," Josiah confirmed, suddenly highly suspicious of the two older boys running towards them. The rain picked up; more dementors were gathering overhead. It wasn't until Daniella mentioned the Muggles that a terrible thought popped into his head.**

**Muggles can't see dementors. But this many of them...**

**"Stay away from the roads," he told them firmly, lifting his wand up. "It's not safe-"**

**No sooner had the words left his mouth than there was the horrific sound of crunching metal behind them. Josiah turned to look; a nearby car had crashed into a large utility truck. The cars behind followed suit, piling up down the small street...**

**"Shit. _Expecto Patronum!_" he shouted, desperate. A silver-white light exploded from the tip of his wand and formed a large, spotted seal. It waved its flippers joyously, swimming through the air as though it were water. The dementors above them receded a few meters.**

**"I can't hold this many of them by myself," he called over his shoulder. "I can only keep them away from the harbor!"**

* * *

Noah took Jo's shout as a call to battle. He clung fiercely to the lessons he'd gotten from Jo about Patronus and successfully conjured – after three attempts – his albatross Patronus. It took flight, after Jo's, pushing away a few more Dementors. He grinned, feeling some of the weight in his chest lift.

Daniella held her wand with shaky hands, trying to get over the awful sensation. She didn't think it was possible to feel worse than she had in the last few days. She was wrong.

Logan and Avery caught up with them and she saw an odd glitter in their eyes. "What's this, Logan? Ezra couldn't possibly control a hundred Dementors by himself!"

"Maybe he has help," Logan said, showing his lopsided grin. Daniella instinctively took one step closer to Jo and raised her wand, not sure at what or whom.

A horn blew for about two seconds, and a very loud bang made the ground under their feet vibrate. Just a few feet away, a van and a car had crashed. People were leaving their homes, flooding the streets, in a panic.

"We should split up, so we can get rid of all of them!" Logan said. "Dany, go with Avery to the main street, we'll clear this side and meet you there."

* * *

**The seal and albatross flew in opposite directions, finally meeting in the middle as they completed their loop. They danced there for a few moments, examining each other, before continuing their work.**

**Josiah's concentration was waning.**

**"Good job, Noah," he said hurriedly, taking a few steps toward his father's boat. "Try to hold it for as long as you can - I'm going to try to get in here and call the Muggle police on the radio-"**

**His plan was thwarted, however, by Logan and Avery's entrance and a crash of metal and glass even louder than the one before. The dock shook; Jo lost his balance for a moment and stumbled away from the boat again.**

**"Go with him, Dan," Josiah said suddenly, as a wave of realization washed over him. They'd made a terrible, terrible mistake. "Noah, you have to help them. Make sure nothing happens to Dan…"**

**He took a few steps back, away from Logan, closer to the small gravel road that led to his house.**

**With sick accuracy, he remembered what Ezra had said to them just before he had Disapparated from the condo.**

* * *

Daniella followed Avery, although it felt more wrong with every step. Why were they separating again? She looked over her shoulder. Noah had stayed a bit behind, hesitating between leaving Jo or her alone.

A Dementor closed in on her. She felt the chill and got goose bumps all over her right side. She tried to think of something, tried to think of Ezra, but that just made her feel worse. She would never see him again, or talk to him, or… There was a horrible sucking sound and the dark figure grew over her. "_Expecto… P-patronum_," she gasped, and white smoke left the tip of her wand.

She blinked, trying to focus. Happy. She'd been happy. The first time he told her he loved her. "Expecto Patronum!" It didn't have animal form, but the cloud pushed the Dementor away for a few seconds. She gasped for air.

* * *

**Avery ran out toward the street, towards the sidewalk, just like he and Logan had discussed. His mind was racing, but in the good way; it always raced when he was about to kill, and he'd gotten express permission to take out the stupid Gryffindor before he left.**

**Unfortunately, however, the Gryffindor wasn't following as closely as Daniella was. Avery squinted, disappointed, but didn't see any way to get a good hit in before he had to keep his end of the bargain.**

**"Come here," he said gruffly, pulling Dan away from the dementors with one arm. She had been trying and failing to cast a Patronus; he couldn't cast one at all, so he would have to make this quick. "Don't be daft and try to fight, either. I haven't the time or the patience."**

**Logan wanted her alive, but if it turned out to be too much trouble, he figured that he could take Logan after the fact.**

**Josiah was still walking slowly backwards, not taking his eyes off of Logan. His wand was now pointed directly at the other boy; he didn't see any reason to keep up appearances. He had known as soon as the Slytherin had suggested they split up that it had been a ruse all along.**

**"I'm not going to make this easy for you," he whispered, feeling the fire of adrenaline swell in his chest. "I should have known. You were always so heartless."**

**Then, without warning, he flicked his wand and a white light - a stinging hex - exploded out of it.**

**Ezra didn't know how the people of Stonehaven expected a man to sleep with all this noise.**

**It was the loud cracks that woke him up. His eyes had opened instantly, wide and alert; he hadn't gotten much sleep over the past week, so it wasn't hard for him to transition to a fully awake state. He sat up stiffly in the small, cramped cabin of the abandoned fishing boat he had taken shelter in. It had a cover on it to keep the rain out, which had been a wonderful cover, if a little warm; nothing a good Atmospheric Charm didn't fix, though. There had also been provisions - two cans of beans and a bag of jerky - and a tattered sleeping bag.**

**It was dark, and it took him a moment to find his wand, which had rolled out of his hand while he was sleeping. He grabbed it and leaned over to the small window on the side of the boat, trying to better see what was happening outside.**

**Instead of the cheerful village scene he had become accustomed to over the past few days, he saw a swarm of dementors.**

**Well, that explained why he felt so much shittier than usual.**

**He had known that Logan had been planning something in Stonehaven just from what Josiah had told him; the boy never would have mentioned it if Logan hadn't brought it up. And the event was finally here, apparently - this was what he was supposed to have done. Not really his style, but even Logan had limits.**

**He squinted out the window again, trying to make out the figures on the far dock. His heart was thudding maniacally against his chest as he recognized Josiah, by his pear-like shape; then Noah, by his height and muscles, even from so far away; that meant the girl had to be Dan - yes, he'd recognize her anywhere - and one of them had to be Logan. But the other...**

**He squinted more.**

**"Shit," he said, to no one in particular.**

**Avery had always been his least favorite cousin by far, and the fact that he was running off with Daniella just made his fury burn all the hotter.**

* * *

Daniella clenched her teeth when Avery's hand closed around her arm, so hard she would lose feel of it in no time. She tried to hex him, but it was her wand hand he was grabbing, so she had to use a different approach.

"Let me go!" She yelled, mostly to get the attention of the others that it was a trap. She twisted and pulled, but he was a lot stronger. So, she did what every girl does in such a situation. She kicked him between the legs.

She took the wand with the other hand as another dementor approached them. She was so pissed off right now, she somehow entered a hyperfocused state of mind and remembered the memory she'd been practicing with, in her lessons. "_Expecto Patronum!_" The ermine shot out of her wand, creating a safe space around them.

Or maybe not. She turned to Avery again as Noah caught up with them. They both pointed their wands at Rosier and stunned him.

"Sorry I took so long," Noah said simply, turning on his heels to run back to where Jo was, looking positively pissed off.

Logan, in the meantime, walked slowly towards the Ravenclaw, savoring the moment. Finally. "Oh, I hope so. It would be terribly boring otherwise."

He tried to dodge the hex, but it still hit his left arm. His face cringed with the sudden sharp pain. "You little…" He flicked his wand, trying to disarm the other boy, trying to make him walk back, closer to the water. With some luck, his next guests would grab the mudblood for him. He flicked it again, and again, throwing stunning and disarming hexes at the boy, keeping him busy. Then he pointed his wand, and murmured, "Time to suffer, kid. _Crucio!_"

* * *

**Josiah almost smirked when he saw the pain flash across Logan's face, but his conscience was very active and quick to catch up. Instead, he furrowed his brow, waving his wand in complex little motions in the air in front of him.**

**He deflected the Disarming Charm with ease.**

**"Very predictable of you," Jo murmured wryly, throwing off a small jet of red light that exploded into tiny, sparkling lights that looked like wasps around Logan's head. More Disarming Charms and Stunning Spells, all counteracted with an incredibly solid Shield Charm; the jets of light from Logan's wand hit the white surface and dissolved harmlessly.**

**He narrowed his eyes at Logan's words, feeling a flash of anger for the first time as he heard Dan shout in the distance. He wanted to see what was happening over there, but if he took his eyes off of Logan for even a moment…**

**He saw the wand movement and went to funnel more magic into his shield, but this time the Charm did nothing.**

**Shield Charms didn't protect against Unforgivable Curses.**

**He dropped his wand with the shock of the pain; it blossomed in every cell of his body, like the worst headache he'd ever had, but in his stomach, in his fingertips... every nerve was on fire.**

**He screamed.**

**By the time he heard the scream, Ezra was already on his way out of the boat; the only problem was that the boat had other ideas, due to a horde of Inferi that had gathered under it and were now beating on the hull relentlessly. He pulled back the vinyl cover, poked out his head, and tried to wriggle out.**

**"Bloody Inferi! Don't you have better bloody things to do than beat on a boat! Like being bloody dead, mayhaps!" he shouted irritably, tumbling out onto the dock with a loud thump. He felt one cold, slimy hand around his ankle; the sensation sent shivers down his spine and made his stomach flip, but he managed to shake the monster off and get to his feet.**

**He stomped on the purple-gray hand with focused determination. Hard.**

**Not ten seconds after he had freed himself from the boat, he realized that there was another boat - a motorized one - heading straight for him with no signs of slowing down. The cabin was surrounded by dementors; the Muggles inside probably couldn't see them.**

**"_Expecto Patronum!_" he shouted. Nothing happened, and he didn't have time to try again - he half-ran, half-rolled out of the path of the oncoming boat. It crashed into his makeshift home with a spectacular, mind-rattling sound. The dock swayed nauseatingly, and Ezra looked back to see several mangled Inferi, a lot of broken planks, a lot of glass, and the sudden and bright-white light of the fuel tank exploding.**

**It threw him on his back, where he lay for a moment, dazed.**

* * *

Daniella ran after Noah, but he was too fast for her, too agile. Years of Quidditch helped him zigzag through crashed cars, panicked people and dementors with great ease. She used her wand to remove some of the smaller obstacles, but she was still losing ground.

Noah, on the other hand, realizing Logan was closing in on Jo, ran faster, pushing people out of his way without ceremony. His boyfriend's scream pierced through him, made him grit his teeth and literally growl a hex in Hawke's direction. He missed, obviously, so he lowered his shoulders instead and lunged at the Slytherin.

The wind got knocked out of both of them as they rolled on the ground, in a mess of arms and legs. He'd dropped his wand at some point, but he was too focused on beating the crap out of that asshole to care now. He wanted to inflict as much pain as he'd inflicted on Jo.

Daniella ran past the two of them to get to Jo. "Jo! Jo, are you alright? What did he do to you?"

* * *

**After what seemed like an eternity, the pain stopped, and Jo stopped screaming. His throat was hoarse, he realized immediately. Also, he was crying. He hadn't realized he had been crying. He pulled himself out of a fetal position and sat, breathlessly, hugging his knees.**

**It was only then that he saw Noah and Logan, the former throwing so many punches that he couldn't count them anymore. The sound was horrific; it made Jo shudder. Or maybe that was just the after-effect of the pain…**

**"Noah," he said, hoarse. "Noah, stop, you're going to kill him…"**

**He reached for Dan's hand and squeezed it listlessly, indicating that he was alright.**

**"I'm okay, I just… he cursed me… I think… the pain…" he was having trouble forming coherent sentences. He also noticed that it was starting to get dark; it had been dusk when they arrived, and the moon was now shining brightly in a cornflower-blue sky, reflected in the harbor. He stared at the water, wondering if the ripples were just his imagination, because there was no wind…**

**"Oh no," he whispered, so quietly it was barely audible. The Dementors were mostly occupied with the Muggles nearby; the Muggle police had arrived, as well, but they were powerless to do anything. They, too, were caught in the trouble. Fog began to settle over the water with the chill. He heard slow, uneven splashing. He saw a skeletal hand reach over one side of the dock grasp fitfully.**

**"Inferi," he said, louder this time. He groped for his wand, but he felt as though all the energy had been drained from his body. "We have to get back. There are Inferi in the water..."**

* * *

Jo's words made Noah hesitate, then stop altogether. Logan had his arms in front of him, trying to protect himself. He'd landed a half-decent punch while Noah scanned the ground around them for his wand, and his jaw still ached from it. But it was nothing compared to the swollen eye, busted nose and lips he'd gifted that asshole.

"Asshole," he spat out loud, getting off of him and finding his wand a couple of feet away, near the edge of the planks. He grabbed it at the same time another hand grabbed the edge of the plank. A grey-white hand, just skin and bone, the skin peeling off.

He stared at it for a few heartbeats. Then a head pulled out of the water, as Jo said those words. "Oh, shit!" He pulled back hastily, looked around, and found them. Jo was trying to raise his wand and Daniella…

Another of those things was coming out of the water, then another, then another. She dodged one, which brought her closer to another.

"LOOK OUT!" Noah called out.

One of Inferi grabbed her leg. She kicked and screamed, startled, but it wouldn't let go. Noah aimed at the head that popped out of the water and shouted "Stupefy!" but the thing didn't even flinch. It was slowly, but surely starting to pull Daniella away, into the water. He looked at Jo frantically. "What do I do, whatdoido?!"


	21. Broken

**_Chapter 21 - Broken_**

**It took Ezra a few moments to recover from the blast. It had happened in such close proximity that it had winded him, and by the time he could breathe again, the Inferi were making their way onto the docks and crawling towards him at an alarming speed, considering they were dead. He inched away hurriedly, managed to get to his feet, and started to jog backwards.**

**He was a little worse for wear, covered in week-old facial hair and dirt from the bottom of the boat and acne, but he could still cast spells. This he did, though the incantation was drowned out by the huge rush of fire that exploded from his wand.**

**A giant, flaming dragon crackled through the newly-dark sky, huge and blazing. The Inferi began to scream; the dragon ducked low, scooping a couple of them into its massive jaws. Ezra flicked his wand, concentrating hard, and a new stream of fire started - this one a giant snake.**

**The fire was streaming from his wand continuously, and so he couldn't properly look behind him. When he heard Daniella's cries of fear, he arched his arm behind him to keep the flow going and whipped around to see her.**

**"DANIELLA!" he shouted, louder than he might have ever shouted in his life. The great snake, having just claimed another ten Inferi, turned and began to slither through the sky towards the end of the dock where Josiah, Noah, and Daniella stood.**

**Ezra flicked his wand again, and again, and again...**

**He was running so fast that by the time he reached them it was hard to stop; he stumbled for a moment, tripping over his own feet. The flames had followed him; the air was filled with the screaming of burning Inferi.**

**But Daniella...**

**"Let her GO!" Ezra screamed, his eyes-pitch black in the dark so that the fire was reflected in them. All of the separate fire beasts collided in the sky, creating a mass of fire so bright that it hurt to see; then, they formed a giant, fearsome cobra.**

**It lunged.**

**It was so large that its tail was still at the other end of the docks, lighting the wooden beams on fire as it slithered along. Where its belly touched the water, the magical fire made it hiss and turn to steam. The boat that had crashed was still burning in the distance.**

**The massive cobra had its hood extended, and its great head filled Ezra's entire field of vision. It bared its teeth for only a moment above the Inferius that had a hold of Daniella, then bit down with incredible speed.**

**The Inferius collapsed in a pile of ashes.**

* * *

Daniella didn't realize she was screaming until she heard a familiar voice shout back her name. Her heart ached. He was there. She wanted to look for him, but those disgusting, gooey hands were still trying to push her into the water. She lost her balance, falling back, but kept throwing every hex she could remember at the Inferius. Nothing worked.

Then the night became bright with yellow and orange and red. They looked up in time to see a huge dragon made of flames cut through the sky, illuminating dozens of Inferi only to scorch them a moment later.

A shadowy figure came running towards them, the fire-dragon-snake in its tail. She felt the heat of the flames kiss her skin as the Inferi that surrounded them, the Inferius that had a hold of her, were destroyed, one by one. She was too mesmerized to remember how to speak. How was Ezra able to do that?

He looked terrible, uneven beard, greasy hair and clothes and he looked almost as pale as the creatures he'd just destroyed. She never loved him more.

She slowly got to her feet again, unsure what to do, not knowing what _he_ would do. On the main street, chaos was still raging, but she barely took notice of any of it. She couldn't look away from Ezra.

* * *

**Once all the Inferi stopped screaming, due largely in part to being very dead instead of just undead, Ezra stumbled back a few steps and muttered something hoarsely. The angry orange flames suddenly turned blue, as though they had frozen solid; then, the cobra slowly dissolved into a fine, sparkling mist, like stardust.**

**The Slytherin looked around wildly for Daniella, found her, and ran to her.**

**"Are you okay?" he asked, closing one eye against the smoke that was now mixing with the fog in the aftermath of his Fiendfyre.**

**"Sorry for ruining the moment," said Josiah in a small voice. "But was that Fiendfyre?"**

**"Yes," said Ezra, flatly. He was slightly out of breath from all the running. He panted for a few more moments, leaning over Daniella, when he had a sudden strike of memory. He stood and turned, trudging with effort to the crumpled figure of Logan. His thin ebony wand was pointed down at the older boy.**

**"You," he whispered. Then, without warning, he bent down and grabbed Logan's arm. He ripped the shirt away from it ferociously and held it, exposed, by the wrist. A dark, jet-black mark was visible on the pale skin of his arm. "You worthless, lying piece of shit. Look your sister in the eye and tell her yourself. I want her to hear it from you."**

* * *

Daniella smiled hesitantly at Ezra, but before she had a chance to answer, Josiah interrupted them. She wanted to give him a good smack for doing that, but then Ezra took off again.

As he closed in on Logan her heart kept to her throat. Someone was going to end up dead tonight.

She rushed closer to them, one hand raised.

"No, Ezra, stop, it's alr-" She looked at Logan's arm that Ezra was holding up and froze in place. Her eyes were still watery from all the sudden light and smoke from the flames, but...

"What's that?" She asked, not wanting to believe what instinct was yelling at her.

Logan looked from Ezra to Daniella, then started laughing, a low, vicious chuckle. Using his free arm, he pulled himself up from the ground.

"What should I tell her first? Maybe I should tell where you learned to destroy Inferi?" He yanked his arm out of Ezra's grip and straightened up. "Or have you come clean to her already? Have you told her about the position that's waiting for you, that you've been groomed for all these years? You're no different from me, Greengrass."

* * *

**Logan wrestled his arm from Ezra's grip, and the younger boy stood, slowly circling around Logan as he walked. He returned the chuckle with a terrifying, mirthless smirk.**

**"It's the Dark Mark," he answered Daniella's question, not taking his eyes off of Logan. His wand was held with an amazingly steady hand, pointed at Logan's chest. "It's what you get when you become a Death Eater. Tell me, Logan, when did you sign up? A few weeks ago? Months, maybe? Perhaps even a year? I wonder."**

**Ezra, who was wearing short sleeves, exposed both of his forearms, which were pale and slightly dirty, but free of tattoos.**

**"Sure, Logan, you can tell her. But after you tell her what my parents wanted for me, what they were grooming me for, make sure you throw in the part where I ran away from home. I ran away from home because I - unlike you - have qualms about torturing people to death."**

**He paused, leaning forward.**

**"Which is why you're not dead yet. But you should be. I should have killed you. I should kill you now."**

* * *

As Greengrass talked, Logan met his sister's watery eyes. Eyes that looked so much like his own. He'd seen love and care in her eyes, when she was little. He'd seen pride and patience. He'd seen disappointment, frustration and anger. He'd never seen fear and rejection until today. One moment later, he couldn't see anything at all, anymore. Nothing.

Those were the eyes of a stranger staring at him, as Daniella finally gave up her brother.

Logan froze, more disturbed by that than he would be willing to admit. Something inside twisted and twisted, until it broke.

"Let it go, Ezra," his sister told Ezra softly, her voice sounding to Logan very distant. "He's not worth it."

Logan blinked slowly, absorbing those words. The meaning of them. He was alone now. _Truly_ alone. He had nothing but his cause, his master. And revenge.

He looked at Ezra, sideways, his own wand hanging loosely from his fingers, along his side. He let his hate and jealousy towards Greengrass fill him, engulf him, erasing the pain of Dany's rejection.

* * *

**Ezra's jaw was set so tightly that he could feel the tension in his forehead and all the way down his neck. He heard Daniella's voice, distant and soft. It rolled around in his mind and took him a few moments to fully comprehend.**

**He was so, so angry.**

**But he lowered his wand.**

**"We are nothing alike," he whispered, locking eyes with Logan one last time. "The Muggles and Mudbloods aren't your problem, Logan. You've chosen the wrong side. You're a fuck-up. Never make the mistake of thinking I'm like you."**

**He turned, reaching out to grab Josiah in one grimy hand, since he was closest.**

**"We're going."**

* * *

Noah let out a resigned sigh as he took Jo's free hand. He'd misjudged Greengrass. He foresaw another apology in his immediate future; he wasn't happy with the current tally between the two of them.

Daniela was the last one. She looked at Logan one last time; he just stood there, an odd, sad smirk on his busted lips, looking at her, wand loose on his hand.

She looked at Ezra, trying to figure out what was going through his mind. As always, it was hard to tell; as always, she would gladly look at him for hours, trying to figure it out. But she needed more than that. She just wasn't sure he could give her that, or even if he wanted to.

He was willing to go back with them. She told herself that was good enough, for the time being. She took Noah's free hand.

* * *

**Once everyone was close enough for Ezra to grab, he closed his eyes and pulled them through magical space at breakneck speed. Apparating with four people was especially uncomfortable; when they landed on the front steps of the condo, he inhaled deeply, glad for the air.**

**"Oh," Josiah said, suddenly panicked. "I'm so sorry, I changed the Charms so..."**

**"Just open the door," Ezra replied tonelessly.**

**"Okay," Josiah half-squeaked.**

**The Ravenclaw waved his wand for a brief moment, and they all piled into the front room. Jo shut the door behind them.**

**Ezra looked around tiredly; someone had moved all of his things into the front room, and they were sitting in a pile, rather haphazardly. Then again, he had left in rather a hurry - he supposed he couldn't be cross with them forever.**

**"I am going to take a shower," he announced slowly, gesturing toward the bathroom. "And shave, and eat, because for the past week, I have been living in a boat. We can talk about all of this tomorrow when I don't feel like a filthy Muggle hobo."**

**Inwardly, he was proud of himself; he'd learned what a hobo was from watching Crossroads.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella was sitting by the window when the sky started to change from pitch black to grey, pink and then blue. She'd rolled around on the bed for hours, barely getting any sleep, and eventually just gave up on trying.

She dreaded the conversation that was coming. That wait, and the knowledge that he was under the same roof as her, but had purposefully avoided her last night made it obvious that he hadn't forgiven her.

Restless, she took a quick shower and made her way to the kitchen, to cook breakfast. Nobody had had much to eat last night, and she lived with three men, most of them voracious. All the while, she listened intently, trying to make out any sounds that came from the common room.

* * *

**Ezra woke up on the couch feeling like a prince. He'd never gone so long without shaving, showering, or eating a proper meal before; waking up to the smell of bacon on an actual piece of furniture after a week of living in a small, dirty boat was like waking up in paradise.**

**He stretched, catlike, allowing himself to enjoy the feeling before all of the memories of the previous night returned to his sleep-fogged mind.**

**They'd thought he was a Death Eater.**

**He sat up blearily, rubbing one eye and looking over at the television, which was on, although the volume was low. He'd found that the low drone of unintelligible Muggle conversation helped him sleep; it was somewhat of a comfort.**

**He looked at his things, which were still in a pile on the floor beside the couch.**

**He was a man of pride, as was well known, and he didn't like to admit that his feelings had been hurt. The fact remained, though, that they had; he knew that he was very different from the others, perhaps even foreign in a way, but he'd felt like they had been coming to terms which each other's difference. He might have grown up hating Muggleborns, sure, but that was because it was all he had ever been taught, and nobody could rightfully be expected to rebel against that until they were proven wrong.**

**Sure, he might have grown up learning Dark Magic and planning to help conduct a mass genocide, but he'd run away before then, and that was what mattered...**

**Right?**

**Now he wasn't sure. All he knew was that, when push had come to shove, they hadn't trusted him. He had been trying so hard, trying as hard as he was able, and they had believed whatever Logan told them with barely any resistance at all. Had they thought so poorly of him all along?**

**He put both meticulously-cleaned feet on the cold faux-wood floor and stood up, padding quietly across the room and into Daniella's half of the condo. He poked his head in, looking first at the table, then at her. He couldn't hold her eyes, so he quickly looked to the side.**

**"Good morning," he murmured.**

* * *

Daniella met Ezra's eyes. The frying pan rattled against the dishes. She focused her attention back on it and pressed her lips together, telling herself to calm down.

"Good morning," she greeted back, moving busily around the kitchen, avoiding him. "Sit down, breakfast is almost ready."

When she couldn't think of anything else to do, she took her seat on one side of the small table and studied him cautiously. "Thanks for helping us last night."

* * *

**Ezra pulled out the chair he had Transfigured a few weeks ago and sat, wordlessly.**

**He would be lying if he said that he hadn't been thinking about Daniella. In fact, he'd been thinking about her constantly, especially when he'd been stuck in that stupid boat. He had also cried a little, which he would never admit; in his mind, he was still blaming it on the extreme hunger he'd had to suffer while trying to make one can of beans last for two days.**

**He wasn't sure what the state of their relationship was now, although he knew that he was still wounded from last week's events. He also knew that hearing her cry for help had pierced his heart like an arrow. He had never worried for anyone so much, never cared so completely about anyone that he had been compelled to risk his own life.**

**His eyes remained fixed on the scratched tabletop. His chin was cradled in one hand, so his reply was muffled.**

**"You're welcome."**

**Ezra looked up, then quickly away again.**

**"I don't suppose I have to tell you that none of that was my idea."**

* * *

"I know," Daniella murmured, not quite daring to look him in the eyes. "I think I knew from the moment you left."

She poured scrambled eggs and bacon into one dish and silently pushed it in his direction. Then she served herself, even though her stomach felt more like a tight ball of mixed feelings. "We didn't handle things right. We let-" she interrupted herself. "I let my doubts get the best of my judgment. I guess I wanted to believe my brother wasn't that… that…"

She sighed, closing her eyes. "I know it won't make a difference, but I'm truly sorry."

* * *

**Ezra's heart lifted at this, quite against his will. Of course, he would have preferred her to have known before he'd left, but the fact that she had only doubted him for a moment... it still hurt, but a little less. At least he knew that she hadn't spent all that time cursing his name.**

**He accepted the plate gratefully and began to cut the eggs into small pieces with his fork.**

**He listened, and then was silent for a long, long time.**

**"I know," he said finally, taking his first bite of egg. He closed his eyes, savoring for a moment, before continuing. "I know I don't seem like the hero type. I suppose I just thought... after how hard I'd been trying, it would have made some difference."**

**He started to work on the bacon; even though he'd had dinner the night before, he felt like he hadn't eaten in a year.**

**"I'm just glad it didn't get you killed," he murmured, quietly. "I camped out there because I knew... he wouldn't have mentioned it if he hadn't been planning something. But if I hadn't been there..."**

**He didn't want to think about what might have happened.**

**As she apologized, he looked up. His eyes were tired, but not angry.**

**"It's still nice to hear," he admitted in a mumble, stuffing more bacon into his mouth.**

* * *

"It would've made a difference, Ezra. The things Logan said, and that other man… I had my doubts, and they had them too, but we wanted to believe you had a reasonable explanation. So we came back to talk to you."

Daniella hesitated, but pushed on, perfectly aware that her next words might ruin every chance of her ever getting him back. But they needed to change some things in their relationship if they wanted it to survive.

"But you left." She wanted to touch him, but kept her fingers tightly wrapped around her fork. "All I needed was an answer. I would've believed you, Ezra."

She looked at her own plate. "How can you expect me to trust you blindly, when you don't trust me enough to tell me something so big? Why didn't you tell me the real reason you ran away from home?"

* * *

**Ezra closed his eyes, as though he was trying to wish away the conversation out of sheer willpower. He inhaled and exhaled deeply.**

**"You were supposed to know the answer," he said finally, shaking his head. "Of everyone, you were supposed to be the one person who was on my side, the one person I could trust. And then, suddenly... you say I don't tell you enough, but really, I've spent the past few months living with you. You know what I've been up to. Or you should have known. And when I warned you about Logan, you should have believed me. Why do I always have to prove to everyone that I'm not going to murder them in their sleep?"**

**He laughed hollowly.**

**"But no. I see. That's fine. Listen to me carefully, Daniella. I ran away from home for a lot of reasons - of which the fact that my parents are one of the major financial supporters of You-Know-Who was only one. I ran away from home the moment I realized that I loved you, and that I couldn't live a peaceful life with you if I didn't fight against my family every step of the way. So that is what I've done. For you. You are my family now, do you understand? You are the only family I have."**

**He looked up at her; his eyes were deep with hurt.**

**"I'm trying, but I can't change overnight. And, for the record, if I didn't know any Dark Magic, you would probably be dead. So, again, you're welcome."**

**Ezra looked off to the side miserably, putting his fork down on his plate and looking off to the side.**

**He wondered if Crossroads was on yet.**

* * *

The accusations hurt. For months, she'd defended him against everyone else. And then one hesitation, one doubt, and everything had fallen to pieces. "I'm trying too! Do you think it's any easier for me?! I used to trust that completely… _in my brother_. Until he broke that trust, so many times that I couldn't trust anymore. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to put my trust in someone again? I was scared, Ezra..."

Her eyes burned; she blinked, looking away for a moment. She'd messed things up so badly! He was the only family she had as well; him and Jo. But she didn't know how to fix this, because clearly they weren't getting anywhere.

"I was weak... I'm sorry," she said in a low voice, smashing her eggs with her fork. "Thank you for saving our lives."

Unable to sit still, she stood up and turned to the sink, to start washing the dishes, so she didn't have to watch him get away from her.

* * *

**Ezra remained motionless and silent as she moved quickly, slamming the dishes with a clatter and carrying over to the sink, where she busied herself in an attempt to get away from him.**

**He really didn't have any idea, he realized. He had never trusted anyone before he'd trusted her; he'd never had to worry about anyone breaking his trust, because he'd never given them any. It wasn't safe for a person like him to trust. Despite all his efforts to the contrary, he had been irreparably damaged by the manner in which he'd been raised. All of those years he'd been starving for affection, and now, just when he'd had it, he'd gone and fucked it up.**

**The door opened and closed. He looked up.**

**"Oh," said Josiah, meekly. "Sorry, bad time?"**

**Ezra stared at him blankly for a few moments, wondering how anyone could possibly be so daft and likable at the same time. He supposed it had something to do with growing up in an actual family, where people cared for you and you returned the favor. Perhaps it made you more sensitive to other people's feelings.**

**"No," Ezra said flatly. "I was just leaving."**

**Josiah gave him a wide-eyed, concerned look, fidgeting with his hands and the hem of his sleepshirt awkwardly as though he wanted to say something but was restraining himself.**

**_Oh, Merlin's pants_, Ezra thought dryly. They were going to be here all day.**

**"I just wanted to say..." Jo started, uncertainly. "I'm really sorry. I knew in the back of my mind that it was all wrong, the whole time, and I should have said, but I was just so scared... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I... I never thought you would hurt us, Ezra. I mean, I know we aren't the best of friends, but I think I know you a little better than that, and... it must have hurt your feelings quite an awful lot."**

**Ezra blinked into the rambling apology, not sure which part he should focus on the most, or if he should be cheered or irked by it. He decided to try the former, as it was unlikely that he was going to get any other sort of encouragement anytime soon from anyone else.**

**"And that Fiendfyre was really, really wicked cool," Josiah added, a little breathlessly. "I know it's Dark Magic, but I thought sometime... maybe... I mean... you might teach me. If you want," he added hurriedly.**

**A few beats of silence passed.**

**"Thank you," he said, quietly. "I'll think about it."**

**More silence.**

**"Are you going to finish your bacon, if you're leaving?" the Ravenclaw asked innocently.**

**Ezra huffed out a short, weak laugh despite himself.**

**"No, you can go ahead. I'm... I'm going out for a while. I thought I would try to find us another house," he said, hoping that didn't sound like some sort of lame excuse, because it wasn't. They wouldn't be able to stay there for more than a few days, and they certainly wouldn't be able to go back to work at their former places of employment.**

**Josiah pondered this for a moment.**

**"Okay," he said slowly, offering the other boy a small, warm smile. "You should get Noah to go with you. I'll stay with Dan and help tidy up. Not that I don't trust you!" he said immediately, realizing how that had sounded. "Just that... you know... it's not safe for us to split up. I think we all learned that yesterday."**

**After a while, Ezra nodded.**

**"Yeah," he affirmed. Then, with a click of the door shutting behind him, he was gone.**

* * *

Daniella heard the conversation in silence. Ezra left without saying another word to her. Sighing sadly, she turned her head slightly to the table. "I can make more bacon if you want, just let me know," she said quietly, cleaning her hands on the kitchen cloth.

She leaned back against the counter, throwing glances at Jo every now and then, biting her nails. She never bit her nails. "He didn't forgive me," she said suddenly. Huffing out a breath, she murmured, "I made a mess of everything, I know. But he's so infuriating, sometimes!"

* * *

**Josiah, who had picked up the two pieces of bacon remaining on Ezra's plate and was now chewing them determinedly, covered his mouth with one hand so he could politely talk while chewing.**

**"That's fine," he said, swallowing. "I would be keen on some more eggs, though, if you're willing. He's finished his."**

**He looked at the egg crumbs sadly and then back up at his best friend. She was biting her nails; she never bit her nails. He gave her a small, encouraging smile.**

**"He's a man, love," Jo told her comfortingly, as though he wasn't one. "They have been known to do that from time to time."**

**He pulled the chair that Ezra had recently vacated closer to him and plopped down in it, crossing one leg over his thigh and resting his elbows on the table.**

**"What did he say?" he asked, an open invitation for her to vent her frustrations.**

* * *

"Sure." Daniella was thankful for the chance to get busy again; for the chance to pour her heart out without having to face Jo.

"He said I should've known; that I should've believed him and known that Logan was lying. He said I was supposed to be on his side, that he thought he could trust me. As if he was saying he can't trust me now; saying that I betrayed him. It was my brother, what was I supposed to do?"

She scrambled the eggs a bit too furiously, then took the plate from the table and poured them onto it. Maybe she'd made too many eggs, she thought offhandedly. She sat in front of Jo, setting the plate in front of him.

"I wanted to believe my brother wasn't so bad. But I also wanted Ezra to tell me it was all a lie. That I wasn't wrong about him But he just left, and it's my fault. Because I drew him away from his family, and he only has me now, and now he doesn't trust me and he barely even talks to me!"

She paused to catch her breath, feeling lightheaded from the outburst. "He's too proud, Jo. He acts like nothing affects him, but then when it does, it's so intense… I don't know if he'll ever really forgive me. If he'll ever trust me again."

* * *

**Jo listened patiently, trying not to interject. It was clear that Dan needed this time; she needed to vent to someone who wouldn't judge her, and Josiah knew that he was the only person she had right now who could be that for her. He thanked her for the eggs with a smile and pulled them closer before digging in.**

**He wasn't necessarily sure that he needed four eggs all to himself, but he didn't have the heart to say that, either, so he was determined to eat them all and be happy about it.**

**"Mm," he hummed in the back of his throat, both in appreciation for the food and as an aid to his thought. "I know, love. But he doesn't have any siblings, right? Before he met you, did he even have friends?"**

**Josiah wondered if this was a mean thing to say, and looked properly sheepish before continuing on.**

**"I mean, you and I understand how that is, because we grew up with our siblings, but it's like he told you - you're all he has. I'm not saying you're wrong! He is very poor at communicating, no doubts 'bout that. It was awful, the way he handled it. I'm just saying he probably really doesn't understand. The only way you learn how to share your feelings is by experience, and if you don't show him how, he won't figure it out. Bless him, he still can't tell a nickel from a quarter, and I've shown him six times."**

**Having said this, Josiah downed a few more forkfuls of egg. He looked at his best friend, and could see the sadness in her eyes. Ezra's eyes had been like that, too. They had been like that as long as he'd known the other boy. They'd probably been like that longer. But the fact was that they were both in pain, and it wouldn't do them any good to keep snipping at each other. It would only make the situation worse.**

**"He'll forgive you," Jo said confidently. "I'm sure of it. I think he forgave you truly when he decided to come home with us. He would have left otherwise, wouldn't he have? He just doesn't know how to say so. He'll definitely, definitely forgive you. Just give it a bit of time, aye?"**

* * *

Daniella huffed. "He had Sabrina, I guess. With friends like her, who needs enemies?" She lowered her voice.

Her upper lip trembled in the ghost of a smile. "I hope you're right. I just miss him. A lot. I never thought I'd need someone so much." She sighed, resting her chin on her hand. I want him to feel happy, for a change. But I don't know what to do."

* * *

**"See, it's no wonder he's so bad at all this," Josiah said, solemnly.**

**He reached across the table and covered her hands in his own; he gave them a squeeze, then, and smiled.**

**"I know. Love is hard sometimes. Even Noah and I have problems now and then, you know?" He pulled his hands back to his side of the table and folded them in his lap. "But he'll come 'round, you'll see. He needs you as much as you need him."**

**Jo finished the remaining eggs on the plate and pushed it back. He definitely wasn't hungry anymore, that was for sure. Then, he pondered Dan's question for a long, hard moment. Sure, he knew how to make men happy, but he wasn't sure that she wanted to hear what he had to say...**

**"Well, I wouldn't buy him anything," said Jo wisely. "He's been bought things his whole life, innit, but he's not any happier for it." The Ravenclaw trailed off uncertainly. "I don't know, Dan... but I'm sure you'll figure it out when the time is right. Think of it as falling in love all over again."**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah stretched, sprawled diagonally on the bed. He didn't have many chances to take up all the space. His body felt heavy and lazy, like he'd slept too much. Which he had, he realized, as he looked at the clock.

He jumped out of bed, dragged his feet into the bathroom, washed his face and got dressed. The knuckles of his right hand were achy and bruised. He smiled at the thought of how much more that asshole must have hurt.

He peeked into the fridge, found half of a turkey sandwich and took a large bite. What would he do with himself all day, now that he couldn't go back to work? He left his side of the condo to find Jo, and found Ezra instead, eyes fixed on the tv.

Crap, he wasn't quite ready to humiliate himself for a second time in less than two weeks. He looked at the other boy and sighed loudly.

"I can't believe I have to do this again." He looked at Greengrass a bit longer, then rolled his eyes in resignation. "I'm sorry I misjudged you. We were unfair with you and it turned into a huge mess." A thoughtful pause. "It was a good thing you were there. I don't think we could've escaped those things. It was a pretty cool trick, by the way," he finished, then looked around awkwardly at anything but Greengrass.

* * *

**Ezra glanced up from the TV, slightly unwillingly, as Noah entered the room. At least the other boy was awake - he'd gone through two episodes already, and he was itching to get out of this house. Just being in close proximity with Daniella right now was making his heart ache and his jaw clench. He wasn't sure which was worse.**

**Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for a while. Then, Noah apologized.**

**Ezra was finding this whole accepting apologies thing to be very awkward, and he wasn't sure why he was suddenly having to do it so often. He puffed out his cheeks with a sigh, looking back to the television as he tried to think of something reasonable to say.**

**"You're welcome," he settled on, after a while. "Now that we have that out of the way, Johnston told me that I should take you with me to look for a new house. The fact that you are the least awkward person I can take with me at the moment should say more than enough about my current situation, so please don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be."**

* * *

Noah looked at the door that led to the other side of the condo, then back at him. So, those two weren't getting along yet. That was a shame. Even though he wasn't exactly close to Daniella, the mood in the house in the past week was driving him crazy. Couldn't these people just make up and make out, and be done with it, he wondered.

"Sure, why not? Getting out of the house sounds like a terrific idea." He snorted at Ezra's last request, shaking his head. "I'll do my best," he said dryly.

He grabbed his keys from the table, then moved around a couple boxes to pick up the two helmets he had in the corner.

"Let's go, then."

* * *

**Ezra, already dressed and relieved that Noah didn't put up any resistance, got to his feet and smoothed out his black button-down shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up, which was rather out of character for him; he had seen someone do it on the television and was giving it a try.**

**It wasn't until the other boy offered him a helmet that he stopped, staring wordlessly for some collection of moments.**

**"What's in Merlin's name do you propose I do with that? What is that, anyway? I've always wondered when I pass them on the way in. I thought they were ugly bowls with straps." He took the proffered helmet and examined it critically. He chanced another look up, nonplussed. "They aren't bowls, are they?"**

**Surely no one could blame him for being absolutely sure.**

* * *

Noah stared at Ezra, trying to keep his mouth from opening. He wanted to face-palm instead.

"Bowls…" He repeated, his voice choking. He groaned; then frowned. "They're helmets," he said slowly.

"And they're not ugly," he added stiffly, rather matter-of-factly. "I propose you put it on your head, unless you want your precious brain scattered all over the road if we have an accident."

He shook his head and opened the door.

"You weren't really expecting to go around town looking for houses on foot all day, were you?"

* * *

**Ezra pondered this new information for a few moments.**

**"Well, they look fine for helmets, I suppose," he mused. "You do have to admit they'd make hideous bowls."**

**He put the helmet on his head experimentally, adjusted it several times, and began fiddling with the straps. Then, as though he'd just had a realization of massive proportions (which he had), he stopped and gave Noah a very dull, humorless look.**

**"What do you mean, 'an accident'? What kind of accident?" He studied the other boy critically. "You mean these helmets are for your - that - that Muggle contraption you keep locked up downstairs?"**

**No. No, absolutely not.**

**"I wasn't," he replied, somewhat hotly. "I was planning to Apparate out of the city and look for houses elsewhere. Because I am a wizard, of age, with an Apparition license."**

**He took the helmet off, looking incredulous.**

**"Surely you don't mean to say you thought we could stay in Liverpool," he added, with some disdain. "This place will be crawling with spies by now. You'll probably be dead if you step out the front door."**

* * *

Noah laughed, he couldn't help it. "You really are something."

He looked back at the other boy as he started to freak out – he had hoped he could avoid that – then closed the door again, and put down his own helmet on the table.

"First of all, I have never had an accident." _At least not after getting my license_, he thought, but didn't say. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a really good Quidditch player. And driving a motorcycle – that's what they're called – isn't so different from riding a broomstick, except you stay on the ground."

He took the helmet from Ezra's hands and put it on the Slytherin's head, adjusting the stripes with clean precision.

"Secondly, doesn't matter which town it is, if you go around Apparating all over the place, we'll end up doing it in front of a bunch of Muggles, and get ourselves in trouble. I thought the whole idea of us living among the Muggles was to hide from the magical word?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "I haven't used the motorcycle, so they won't be looking for us on one."

He guided Greengrass to the small, slightly dirty tall mirror next to the door.

"With that on, no one will recognize you." He looked over Ezra's tall, lean body, at his clothes, so proper and old-fashioned. "I hope."

He put his own helmet on and opened the door again.

"And take it easy, mate. We're supposed to not make this difficult on each other, right? Don't worry, I'll leave all the tactical planning to you. Just tell me where to drive to."

* * *

**Ezra raised one dark, high-arched eyebrow, but said nothing. The way Noah equated it to a broomstick soothed him a bit. He wasn't an all-star Quidditch player, or even very athletic, but he had ridden a broomstick numerous times and wasn't completely terrible at it. A broomstick that stayed on the ground didn't sound dangerous at all, really. He wondered how Muggles managed to have accidents despite being so close to the ground all the time.**

**He allowed the other boy to squish the helmet onto his head and fasten it securely, although the quip about Apparition made him frown. Apparition was an incredibly convenient, unbeatably fast, and a perfectly decent method of transportation.**

**But he had to admit that Noah had a point. Muggles didn't take well to people appearing out of thin air.**

**"Yes, alright," he conceded with a sigh. He examined himself in the mirror critically; the helmet didn't really mesh with his hair or his outfit, but he supposed that couldn't be helped.**

**"How fast does it go?" he asked after a while, curiously. He knew that a Cleansweep Seven could register a very respectable 50 kilometers per hour, but wasn't up-to-date on the specifications of Muggle transportation. "Not too quick, I suppose."**

**He followed Noah out of the condo and out onto the sidewalk.**

* * *

Noah studied Ezra for a long time after that question. He grinned.

"That depends on how brave you are, and if you want to be back in time for dinner." He said, sounding cryptic. "Come on, before you start panicking."

He didn't say anything else until they reached the motorcycle. He took his wand from his back pocket and tapped the seat of the vehicle with it to undo the protective Charms he'd put on it.

He patted the seat. "Isn't it a beauty?" He asked with a dreamy smile. "It took all the galleons I ever earned until I was 16, and some help from my parents to buy it and restore it."

He opened the small gate in front of the building and took the motorcycle outside. Then, he straddled it, started the engine and turned to Ezra. "Jump in. Where are we going?"

* * *

**Ezra stared at the motorcycle dumbly. He'd just had another realization, and this one was slightly more unpleasant than the other.**

**"So," he began, experimentally. "I'm to sit behind you, is that it?"**

**It must be, he thought, because he couldn't see any other way they were going to manage this without getting killed. He inhaled deeply, pressing his teeth together with unhealthy force.**

**"Bloody hell," he growled under his breath, sliding onto the motorcycle behind Noah and trying to get situated. He tried not to look too murderous as the bike inched forward, and Ezra slid further up the seat so that Noah's back was very much between his legs. Then there was the matter of his hands, which was very awkward, perhaps even more so than the former predicament; he compromised by sinking his thin, claw-like fingers into Noah's jacket and gripping them tightly.**

**"Far away," Ezra said vaguely, once he had come to terms with the humiliation. "Out of the city. Drive until you see woods. And for Merlin's sake, don't take your bloody time."**

* * *

Noah's helmet allowed him to hide his amused grin. He swiveled down the visor, laughing quietly as Ezra struggled to find a position. The other boy was extremely uncomfortable, but Noah, as amused as he was, had to think about their safety. Daniella would have his head on a platter if Ezra fell off of the motorcycle because he wasn't holding on.

"Hold on tight. Don't worry, you're not my type, anyway," he teased, trying to lighten up the mood.

Without waiting for a reply, he spun the handle and they took off. He drove slowly at first, enjoying the feeling of the vibrating engine, the power of the bike. He'd missed that. He missed flying even more, but he was content to enjoy one of his passions for now. Then they arrived at the highway, heading out of the city, to the North, and he showed Ezra what the 'Muggle contraption' could do.


	22. Moving Out

_**Chapter 22 - Moving out**_

**Ezra glared at nothing in particular, and he was pretty sure that nobody could see him doing it anyway, so he continued to look surly for a good fifteen seconds until Noah kicked the motorcycle into gear.**

**Suddenly, all hope of decorum was forgotten, and Ezra re-situated his hands around Noah's broad, solid middle.**

**"Bloody buggering fuck," he hissed, looking down at the pavement, which was moving beneath them so quickly that Ezra thought for a moment he might be violently ill. Now he understood perfectly why Muggles wore helmets - he felt like he had been sentenced to slow, torturous death.**

**And Ledger was laughing.**

**"You're a maniac, Ledger," he shouted above the noise of the engine. "And a liar! This isn't a broomstick, it's a bloody space rocket!"**

**He wasn't entirely sure what a space rocket was, but it sounded about right.**

* * *

Noah laughed, but he tried to stay focused on the road. He couldn't really understand most of what Ezra was saying, except 'maniac' and 'space rocket'.

Ezra's hands so tight around him made him look at the rearview mirror. "Don't look down, it's worse," he raised his voice above the noise of the engine. "Look ahead." He gestured ahead with one hand.

No one could follow them that way. There were no broomsticks that fast, and Apparating was pointless, because they didn't know where Ezra and Noah were going.

He drove for about half hour until they arrived somewhere that looked like what Ezra was looking for. Noah wasn't sure how they could possibly find a house in a place like that, but he didn't question Ezra's motives. He wasn't in the mood to apologize a third time anytime soon.

He slowed down, and left the main road when he found a dirt path and a clearing further ahead. He stopped, one foot on the ground, and swiveled up the visor.

"What do you think?" He asked, looking around.

* * *

**Ezra felt an immense wave of relief wash over him as the motorcycle began to slow. There was a large, dense wood ahead. It looked like it would do nicely.**

**As soon as the pair came to a stop, Ezra wasted no time lifting his leg off of the motorcycle and trying to regain his bearings on the ground.**

**"I think I'm going to be ill, that's what," he said accusingly. He wasn't, though, and after a few moments, he undid his helmet and pulled it off. His hair, which was normally incredibly well-kept, stuck up wildly; he didn't notice, of course. The air was fresh, and he could smell leaves and flowers and all sorts of other nature-smells that he wasn't accustomed to, but rather fancied.**

**"Perfect," he said, without elaborating. "We're going to have a bit of a walk, so leave that motorized death contraption somewhere that it won't be stolen."**

* * *

Noah pushed the motorcycle until it was partially hidden behind the trees, reached for his wand, and redid the protective spells, taking his time to make sure they were well done.

He walked back to where Ezra stood, grinning. "Care to explain why you think a bunch of trees are perfect as a new house? Are you thinking of camping? Because I don't think the pair we left at home would enjoy that very much."

* * *

**"Camping? As in tents?" Ezra repeated distractedly. "No, don't be daft. That would be awfully uncomfortable. I'll tell you what I'm looking for when I find it."**

**Leaves and twigs crunched noisily under their feet as they walked; Ezra found the whole thing rather peaceful, if he was honest with himself. At the very least he knew he wouldn't need to worry about Death Eaters lingering outside their front steps.**

* * *

They walked in silence for a long time. Ezra seemed very comfortable with it, but Noah was getting bored. He glanced at Slytherin. "I meant what I said earlier, you know. About the Inferi. None of us had any idea what to do. Not even Jo. Where did you learn to do that?"

* * *

**His eyes darkened a bit at Noah's mention of the Inferi, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he kept trudging along dutifully, pushing a fallen branch out of his way.**

**"No, I imagine Johnston wouldn't know," he said lowly. "It's not exactly a Cheering Charm."**

**A few moments of silence passed between them again, as Ezra thought about what he might say.**

**"One thing you have to understand, Ledger, is that the truth is sometimes inconvenient. For example, what my cousin Rosier told you about me being trained in Dark Magic from a young age by my parents - that is truth. I won't deny it, and I'm sure it doesn't surprise you." He paused, looking up into the canopy of the forest before taking a few more steps. "If I hadn't gotten involved with Daniella when I did, we might be on opposite sides of a war right now. I use what I know about them against them, instead of for them. I chose."**

**He stopped again, but this time he turned and met the other boy's eyes. He searched them, as though suspicious that the blond boy had cast some sort of spell on him that was making him divulge his inner thoughts.**

**Or, he told himself bitterly, you might be thinking of him as a friend, which is even worse.**

**"Were both of them magical?" he asked suddenly, out of context save for his mind, which he had temporarily forgotten that Noah could not read. "Your parents, I mean."**

* * *

Noah kept up with Ezra's pace easily. It didn't surprise him, actually. He was more surprised that Daniella had had such an influence on someone like Ezra. But, then again, meeting and getting involved with Josiah had changed his life too.

"I'm glad we're not on opposite sides. I wouldn't like to face a giant snake made of fire. Can't punch it," he added, smirking.

He was silent for a while, lost in thought. "I get that. Having to make difficult choices, I mean. For Jo, I left behind a life that was perfectly planned out for me."

He frowned at Greengrass's question, suddenly cautious. "Yes, but my mother is Muggleborn," he said slowly. "We were always very close to that side of the family, maybe that's why I'm as comfortable with Muggles as with wizards."

* * *

**At Noah's words about punching Fiendfyre, Ezra snorted irreverently.**

**"Yes, I daresay that would end poorly," he murmured, amused.**

**Suddenly, he found himself listening as Noah shared details about his life, and it dawned on him that perhaps he was having an actual civil conversation with someone other than his girlfriend. Then, he felt a pang, because thinking about Daniella was painful right now - and, to be honest, he wasn't even sure if she was still his girlfriend.**

**"I see," he managed to say. "That's... quite a sacrifice. Though, you two do seem..." he trailed off, uncertain of how much he should say, or in what tone. It wasn't that Noah and Josiah's arrangement bothered him, per se; he was not so insecure as all that. However, it was one of the many topics about which he knew very little, and he could never be sure if he was being acceptably polite.**

**He also noticed the hesitation in the other boy's voice, which made him look at the ground pensively. Yes, he could see how that had been a sensitive question, coming from him.**

**"Yes," he said, after a while. "That makes sense." He stopped walking, looked up at the tree in front of him, and pulled out his wand. It wasn't the largest tree, but there were several others of the same species lined up beside it - which was what Ezra had been looking for.**

**"Do stand back," he murmured. "This is going to be a bit of a mess."**

**He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and with one large, grand wave of his wand, reduced all five trees into a giant pile of sawdust.**

**Somewhere nearby, a disgruntled bird flapped away.**

* * *

Noah pondered Ezra's words. He had never given that much thought to any of it. He'd just gone with the flow. He was a practical person. He had never looked at it as sacrifice.

"I love Quidditch. I love to fly. But I love Jo more. And we have more pressing concerns at the moment. I can still fly, so it's not a big deal."

He had a short moment to try to understand why he was talking about his feelings and about Jo to Ezra, but the other boy started decimating trees before he could say something about it. "What?…" He looked up at the bird. "What are you doing?"

* * *

**Ezra smirked despite himself, then quickly cut it out. The fact that they were getting along so well at the moment was suddenly very eerie to him; it was too easy, he thought, like they were actual friends. Then again, Gryffindors could be sneaky too, in their own way.**

**"Magic," Ezra replied dryly. "I'm doing magic, Ledger. I know this must come as an awful shock for you."**

**He waved his wand again, and the sawdust began to move; it piled up in four separate directions, as though someone was raking it into a large rectangle.**

**There was a loud crack.**

**The particles, which were only wood anyway, began to reform back into planks. The planks formed walls, and the walls met to form a tiny house. Ezra took a step back, squinted, and nodded very slightly.**

**"I suppose it will do for a start," he murmured, brushing a bit of sawdust off of his shoulder. Then, he lifted his wand again; the remaining sawdust spread over the walls at an angle to form a thick, thatched roof. He paused again, and then, as though the necessities were an afterthought, added a door.**

**"The windows will have to come later, there isn't enough sand in this soil for me to make glass," he murmured, more to himself than to Noah. "Johnston will be able to finish it, I expect. Then we can move in."**

**He looked back, trying to judge the other boy's reaction.**

* * *

Noah rolled his eyes at Ezra's teasing jab. "Aaand we're back to normal," he said, snorting.

But he quickly swallowed it and just stared, jaw dropped, at what was happening in front of him. He let out what could've been a whimper. He needed a minute to close his mouth, still staring at the wooden house standing where there had been five big trees just a few minutes ago.

It wasn't the actual magic that shocked him, as much as the fact that it was done by an 18 year old boy in just a couple minutes. A couple minutes.

Slowly, it dawned on him that the house looked tiny. Which meant Ezra – and apparently Jo as well – were going to expand it… a lot. He could've – _maybe_ – built the house with the help of magic, if he already had the planks. Maybe. But this…

He met Ezra's eyes. "You're scary, sometimes."

* * *

**Ezra raised his eyebrows very slightly at this reaction, unsure of why it was such an incredibly big deal.**

**"If you use wood of the same species, it will have the same relative density, which means that you're just Transfiguring wood into wood, which is the simplest kind of Transfiguration there is. Having enough wood to build a house of the same relative mass enables you to work freely without having to Multiply."**

**He stopped, realizing that Ledger probably either had heard all of this before or didn't care, and so he was probably wasting his breath. Transfiguration was a very involved subject, similar in some ways to Muggle science, or so he had heard. It sometimes required the use of formulas, which Ezra was rather good at, but not very much imagination, which he was not.**

**It all seemed rather obvious to him, really. The entire world was made out of the same old stuff, even people; there was probably some Muggle name for this concept, although he did not know it. What he did know, however, is that Transfiguring a person into a house would get you into trouble with the Ministry.**

**Using trees was much easier.**

**"Says the man who rides an engine-powered Muggle broomstick on a highway with nothing for protection except an ugly bowl," Ezra replied sarcastically. "Yes, I'm terrifying."**

* * *

Noah blinked. "Wow, Professor McGonagall, I didn't know I had my NEWTs today," he teased. "Maybe you should have brought Jo with you. He would've appreciated that explanation a lot more."

He gave a sideways grin at Ezra's last comment. "Hey. I can throw a Bludger at your head when you're using my helmet, that'll give you a whole new appreciation for it."

The easy teasing was fun, especially because it seemed like they could finally do it without wanting to jump on each other's throats. But Noah was still thinking about something Ezra had said earlier.

He circled the house, studying the structure with interest, giving himself time to decide if he wanted to bring up the subject. When he returned to the front, where Ezra stood, he asked quietly, "We can move in? Does that mean you're staying with us?" He hesitated, but decided to push on. He kind of cared for the girl, and Jo cared much more. He'd been upset for her. "She was very upset when you left, you know?"

* * *

**Ezra gave him a feral, sarcastic smirk. He had never liked Gryffindors much on principle, but McGonagall was one of the few he actually respected. He supposed that, out of all the teachers he could be compared to, it was better her than Slughorn.**

**"I'm sure," he drawled, stuffing his wand back into his pocket.**

**He, like Noah, began walking around the house, although he was less admiring it and more checking for flaws in his design. It could always be improved later, but any major structural flaws would be much easier to fix now rather than later, after all the Charms were in place.**

**He didn't see any. Good.**

**"Not sure if you've been paying attention, Ledger, but it isn't exactly as though I have anywhere else to go," he mumbled, taking a moment to fiddle with the door. It creaked open and shut as he pulled on it.**

**Noah's last words, however, made his expression darken.**

**"I was upset too," he said grumpily. "Except I was living in a boat at the time, so you'll have to take my word for it."**

**He closed the door again, leaned into it with his forehead, and sighed.**

**"Our relationship is not the same as yours," he began, somewhat uncertainly. "She's… she's like me, but not like me at the same time. She had her brother, and Johnston, and she has… people skills. I grew up being best friends with a house elf because my parents didn't love me enough to tuck me in at night. I can't just… speak my mind like that. That isn't how it works."**

**The words tumbled out before he could stop them, and he instantly regretted saying anything at all.**

**"Just because I don't talk about my feelings doesn't mean…" he trailed off, feeling a bit of heat creep up in his cheeks. "…that I don't have any."**

* * *

"You didn't have to leave. We could've… talked things through," Noah said, rather reasonably. "I'm just saying. But I understand that maybe you needed space."

He let Ezra talk, leaning against the wall and looking away into the trees. "Yeah, she had her brother. And look what he did to her." Noah wasn't sure he was the right person to give relationship advice, but he carried on. "It's not that difficult. You just did it," he pointed out. "I don't know her all that well, but it seems to me like she wouldn't punish you for speaking your mind, or think less of you. And it's obvious you love her. What's not simple about that?"

* * *

**Ezra sighed audibly in reply.**

**What's not simple about that? The question had offended him at first, but then he pondered it seriously for a few moments. They did love each other, didn't they? Had he really been so conditioned to expect sabotage and subterfuge in a relationship that he was seeing it where there was none?**

**He realized then that he had never seen Ledger and Johnston actually fight, which gave him the sneaking, sinking suspicion that he might actually be onto something.**

**Of course, he wasn't going to admit that.**

**"Right," he said hollowly, after a while. "Well, let's go. I daresay we could leave the motorbike here and Apparate back and forth, but..." The Slytherin searched Noah's solid face for any hint of cooperation. "No," he said sardonically in response to his own suggestion. "No, of course not."**

* * *

Noah lifted an eyebrow and said nothing. "Of course not," he repeated, then broke into a wide grin. "Come on, Greengrass, grow some bollocks. How about this? If we crash, I'll let you turn me into any object you want."

He took one last look around, to make sure he would find that place again, and took off, not before poking Ezra one last time."I know Apparating would get you back more quickly, but she'll be waiting for you, don't worry."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah was busy packing his things into boxes when he heard the front room door open and close. He might have heard the motor of Noah's bike, if not for the Sound Reduction Charms that surrounded the entire condo.**

**"That didn't take long," he called out cheerfully, emerging from his side of the condo and closing the door behind him. He stuffed his wand into his pocket hurriedly, trying to be as gentle as possible just in case anything tense had happened between the two boys during their trip. He examined both of them; Ezra looked a little ruffled, and was holding one of Noah's helmets as though it had offended his sensibilities. Other than that, they looked none the worse for wear.**

**"How'd it… go?" he pushed on, tentatively.**

**At these words, Ezra snapped out of his daze-like state and pushed off the helmet into Noah's hands.**

**"We've found a good spot," he informed the Ravenclaw. "But I'll need your help to finish it up." He didn't necessarily have a lot of faith in his own ability to decorate anything, and he definitely couldn't manage an Undetectable Extension Charm of that magnitude.**

**Josiah blinked at him.**

**"Er," he said, somewhat uncertainly, because Ezra had not specified very much. "Alright." He gave Noah a quick, bewildered look.**

* * *

Noah took back his helmet and put both away. He rubbed his neck at Jo's look, amused and a little awkward. When he'd thought about it, on their way back, he'd realized that just a day ago, he would've laughed at anyone who told him he'd be having a casual chat with Greengrass. He walked up to Jo, smiling warmly at him.

"Our new home is in the middle of nowhere, half hour away by bike and it's standing where a couple hours ago stood about five or six trees," he said lightly.

A door opened quietly and he looked up. "Jo, I need one more box to-" Daniella came out of the other side of the condo, but she stopped abruptly when she saw them all there. "Hi…" She said in a low voice, not quite looking at anyone.

* * *

**Josiah listened carefully to Noah's explanation, allowing it to sink in for several long, silent moments. A couple hours…?**

**"You built a house?" he asked the blond, just to clarify. Ezra snorted derisively, although his smirk wasn't unkind like it normally might have been.**

**"I Transfigured a house," he supplied, scratching his nose absentmindedly. "All it needs is an Undetectable Extension Charm and some decorations. That's where you come in."**

**"Oh," said Josiah in a small voice. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at Ezra as though the other boy had grown a second head - in the good way. "That's - well then. Let me just finish getting packed up-"**

**The door opened, and Dan emerged. Josiah gave her a small, encouraging smile.**

**"I'll bring you a box, love, just a tic," he said, turning around and approaching the door again. Then, he stopped for a moment. "Noah, you should come pack, too," he said, as lightly and subtly as possible.**

**Ezra pursed his lips. So they were in it together after all. He wasn't even able to use packing as an excuse; his things had already been packed and tossed into the front room. He smoothed his hair idly with one hand, looking around at the ceiling and the now-bare walls, and everywhere except for Daniella.**

**"Hi," he replied, finally. For some reason, he couldn't get Noah's earlier words out of his head. He tapped the toe of his boot on the wooden floor for a moment, pensive.**

**"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier," he murmured lowly. "And for, you know, for leaving. I shouldn't have."**

* * *

Daniella's heart hammered against her chest for no apparent reason. Josiah was right: it was a little like falling in love again. Except things between Ezra and her hadn't progressed in the normal way to start with.

His voice sent shivers through her skin. "No, you shouldn't have," she said softly. "But I shouldn't have doubted you." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I missed you," she murmured.

* * *

**Ezra turned his head toward her slightly as he talked, although he was still looking at the floor. He was trying not to make excuses; it was so easy for him to try to justify what he'd done. He'd hurt her, though. She'd hurt him, too, of course, but…**

**Finally, he looked up at her, searching her eyes. He reached out and pulled her, gently, closer to him.**

**He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.**

**"I love you," he whispered. "I thought you'd be afraid of me if I told you what I knew. I just wanted things to be normal for us."**

**What could possibly be simpler than that?**

* * *

Daniella exhaled slowly, feeling good and peaceful for the first time in over a week. She belonged in his arms, and she would never let anyone try to take that away from her again.

She brushed her fingers lightly over his jaw. "I'm not afraid of you, Ezra. I love you. I'm proud of you." She huffed out a chuckle. "But normal? We're at war, haven't you heard? There are dementors and undead bodies out there, after us."

She kissed him. She wanted to do a lot more than that to him. She lowered her hand and took his, pulling him onto their side of the condo. "Come with me."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**After he was at least semi-decent, Ezra threw his legs over the edge of the bed and sighed. He was glad that things were better now; it would make everything a lot easier if they were all getting along smoothly. But the truth, he knew, was that they couldn't avoid Logan and his partners forever.**

**"It's best to leave tonight, if we can," he murmured, feeling the afterglow recede. "We might have done enough to keep them at bay for a day, at best. Eventually they'll find out where we've been staying, enchantments or no, and we'll be in trouble."**

* * *

Daniella sat up as well, deep in thought. They hadn't needed to say anything, that night. She and Logan knew each other far too well. She'd been blind for far too long. Now she knew that she couldn't help him. He didn't want to be helped.

The brother she'd known was gone. All that was left now was an empty, painful space in her heart where he'd been. In his eyes she'd seen a simple truth. He wouldn't stop. He'd lost it all, so he couldn't stop anymore. And he was coming for revenge.

She turned her head to look at Ezra on the other side of the bed. "We'll be ready to go," she said, picking up her potions books that had been on a pile on the bed before they tossed them away uncerimoniously.

"So, how are we doing this? Is there furniture yet, water, food?"

* * *

**He pulled on his pants and his shirt and smoothed his hair meticulously. The room was silent, and he knew she was thinking about Logan in that moment. He couldn't understand; the concept of caring about a family member was foreign to him, and so he could only feel a detached sort of sympathy. He was sad because she was sad.**

**But he had no love lost for Logan. What he'd said to the other boy in the alleyway had only been a rather educated guess; he hadn't known for sure that he had joined the Death Eaters. It didn't surprise him, though. Many of his housemates were probably in their ranks by now.**

**Indeed, he and Daniella were more outcasts than they were.**

**"There's nothing yet," he murmured, sighing. "It might be hard for a while. We can Conjure the water, but there's no plumbing. There won't be electricity, either. I can Transfigure whatever furniture we need, and we can take our linens, but other than that…"**

**He trailed off uncertainly. They were already living on thin ice in the condo, and the way he was describing their new arrangement made it seem even worse. The truth was, though, there was nowhere on the grid they could go now and be safe.**

**"We can work on the food situation. If we have dry goods, I can multiply them. It will be enough to live on until we get situated."**

* * *

Daniella tucked the books carefully into a box, then went around the bed to slip her arms around him. "I'm more curious about how you'll live without that show you've been watching lately," she said jokingly.

It wouldn't be easy. They'd have a tough time for a while, but she couldn't bring herself to be concerned. They were together; everything else didn't seem that important. "Hmm, we should probably join them, or they'll think we ran away just ourselves."

* * *

**Ezra wrapped his arms over her own, cherishing her. His happiness faded a bit, though, at the mention of Crossroads. He'd forgotten all about the fact that they wouldn't have television, and this realization made him slightly more depressed than it should have. It was like losing an annoying friend who never stopped talking and then realizing that you would miss the white noise.**

**"It was a very good show," he sighed mournfully. "But we all must make our sacrifices if we are to carry on."**

**He smiled sidelong at her and got to his feet.**

**"You think so? I bet they've barely even noticed-" he opened the door to find Josiah beside of it, looking startled. The Ravenclaw gave him a nervous, sheepish smile and thrust a box at his chest. He was trying very hard to look as though he had not just had his ear to the door.**

**"I've brought the box," he said breathlessly. Ezra stared at him for a moment, trying to keep the amusement off of his face.**

**"He's brought the box," Ezra repeated to Daniella, turning and tossing it onto the bed.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

A couple hours later, with the group fed and fully packed, Daniella joined Ezra in the bedroom. The sun was low in the sky, and people hurried through the streets, returning to their homes after another workday. "Movement is starting to slow down outside. Are you ready to go?"

* * *

**Ezra didn't look over as her hand grazed his back. "I'm ready," he affirmed, turning finally and gathering some boxes by hand. They weren't very large boxes, but he would only be able to Apparate with what he could carry. The others probably wouldn't be able to carry as much, so it would take a few trips - and with Noah on his bike, they would be waiting around in the dark for some time.**

**It wasn't ideal, but it was the best they could do under the circumstances. It was certainly better than staying in the condo.**

**He offered Dan a small smile, and then held out his hand.**

**"I'll take you, then you can go back and forth on your own."**

* * *

Daniella turned around, nodded and picked up a box. With her free hand, she took his hand, squeezing it gently. "Let's go."

She held on tightly to the box and, one second later, she was facing a lovely, tiny looking house made of wood. She put the box down and grinned, taking in the sight in front of her. "Ezra, it's beautiful!"

She let go of his hand and slowly circled the construction, studying it with interest, running her hand lightly over the wooden walls. She returned to the front and braced her hands on his chest, smiling. "You've done an amazing job!"

* * *

**Ezra smiled warmly at her praise. He watched as she examined every inch of what he'd Transfigured, then took her in his arms and gave her a quick, gentle squeeze as she came back to him.**

**"We'll make it work," he said lightly, putting his boxes next to the ones Daniella had brought. A moment later, Josiah and Noah cracked in beside them. There was a small intake of breath from the shorter boy.**

**"Bless, what a sweet little house," he said affectionately, as though he would have reached out to pinch the cottage's cheeks if it had any. Ezra's lips quirked at one corner.**

**"Well, if we're all in agreement about it," he murmured, running an idle hand through his hair. "If you could go ahead and…" he trailed off; the other boy already had his wand out and was ducking into the door.**

**"Could do with a floor, though," Jo called back. Ezra moved forward, wand out.**

**"Right," he said, a little embarrassed. They did an awkward dance, because the house was small and it was a challenge to squeeze by Josiah's slightly plump form in the entranceway. When he finally found his way inside, Ezra Transfigured the pillowy leftover sawdust into a basic stone slab floor.**

**He ducked out again.**

**"Cheers," said Josiah, who went ahead with his Charms. "It might take me a few minutes, what with having to make lots of rooms, so you lot can go on and bring more boxes."**

**Not wanting to waste any time, Ezra Apparated back to the condo and began piling more things into his arms.**

* * *

For a while, the condo and the clearing in the woods were a blur of people popping in and out, and within twenty minutes the condo was empty and the clearing had a large pile of labeled boxes waiting to be sorted.

The sun was nearly touching the horizon as Noah Apparated one last time in the clearing, carrying one last box and his broomstick. He set it carefully on top of the boxes.

"This was the last one." He walked up to the house. "Hey, Jo!" He called, smiling at his boyfriend. "Everything's here. I'm going back now, to bring my motorbike. I'll be back in half hour."

* * *

**"Alright, love," Jo called from somewhere inside the house, which was now much bigger on the inside; his voice was a bit muffled. "I'll be here. Be careful, like I said! I love you."**

**Ezra returned a moment later with the remainder of his own things, including his large silver cauldron that bore the Greengrass family crest. He looked up at Noah, who was retreating.**

**"Are you going back for your motorbroom?" he asked, setting the cauldron down gently. ""Watch for fliers; it's cloudy out. I doubt they'd be able to catch you, but they can still follow your trail, and that would make everything we've done here today useless. So don't take any unnecessary risks," he finished, much more conservatively than Josiah had.**

**With that, he went to take a peek in the house. He opened the door, stuck his head in, and blinked.**

**"Merlin's beard," he murmured, stepping over the threshold and into a nicely-sized front room. Beyond the foyer, there was a common dining room, with one magical window in the back. There was also a kitchen, a pantry, two spaces for bedroom, and a small room off to the side that Ezra could only assume was meant to be a bathroom. The Ravenclaw was fiddling with the kitchen ceiling when he found him.**

**"Do you think you can make some cabinets? For the uppers?" Josiah asked absentmindedly, motioning. "I could try, but you're much better than I am; although I can't say that I've done much, not really, although I did enchant some of the wall to be a one-sided window, that way maybe any Muggles will think it's just a wee shed-"**

**"It's really nice, Johnston," Ezra said quietly, with an unusual amount of kindness. "Thanks for finishing it up. I'll get you some cabinets."**

* * *

Noah grinned as he got a glimpse of Jo, doing his intricate little dance around the newly added rooms, looking happy. He retreated.

He blinked at Ezra, then let out a laugh. "Shawn once suggested I should call it Sheila, but 'motorbroom' is a million times better." He listened to the other boy's advices, trying to keep a straight face. "Yes, I will be careful and I won't bring any uninvited guests. Take it easy, Greengrass, someone might think you actually care about me," he said lightly.

He passed by the other boy, checked his pocket for his wand, then stopped and turned around, looking thoughtful. "Hey, Greengrass. Hmm, would it be too much trouble if you built a little extension for Motorbroom? Just so it doesn't stay outside, in plain sight?" He asked hesitantly. "If it doesn't take too much time, of course."

With that, he Apparated back into the condo. He took one last look around, making sure they didn't leave anything of their own behind, picked up his helmet and headed out the door.

It had gotten dark quickly outside. He left the parking area onto the main road. Suddenly, a flash of red light hit him on his right side. He struggled to control the motorbike, as a flash of grey light hit his helmet.

"Shit!" he cursed, speeding to get out of that street, zigzagging between parked cars, making tight turns. The back tire skidded as he took an abrupt turn to the left. He felt a sudden, sharp pain on his left leg as an hex hit him. It threw him against a parked car and stopped his motorbike momentarily.

Noah took one hand off of the handle, reached for his wand and looked to the left. A man was running up to him. He sent half a dozen hexes in quick succession, making the man dodge to the side. He looked up to the sky. A shadow flew in circles above him.

Ezra had been right. "Fuck," he muttered, sticking the wand between his crotch and the seat, for easy access to it. He tried not to think of how dangerous 'that' was to certain parts of his body.

The man had gotten up and was running towards him again, sending curses at him. Noah turned the handle and sped forward, ignoring the pain on his leg.


	23. Groceries

_**Chapter 23 - Groceries**_

**Hours had passed since they'd last seen Ledger, and Johnston was beside himself with worry. Ezra looked at him sidelong; the other boy was folding his hands one over the other endlessly, looking off into the distance at nothing in particular with furrowed eyebrows. Occasionally he would say something like 'maybe it was just traffic' or 'he might have gone to get groceries without telling us.'**

**Ezra, however, had darker, more informed suspicions. And so it was that when he heard the engine of the motorbroom in the distance (which he'd made a small half-garage for out of a small tree's worth of sawdust), he pulled out his wand and stormed out to meet it.**

**He took Noah (or what looked like Noah) by the collar and pointed his wand at the boy's neck.**

**"What object did I think your helmet was when you took me riding this morning?" he asked quietly, between his teeth. Josiah burst through the door after him, also running, looking thoroughly panicked.**

**"What are you doing! Let him go!" he shouted, trying to pry Ezra away by the shoulder. The Slytherin shrugged him off; Josiah let go, stunned. "He's hurt, let him go! Oh my god, Noah, what happened?" he whispered, wanting desperately to hug his boyfriend without Ezra in the way.**

**"I'll let him go after he answers me," Ezra murmured purposefully.**

* * *

Noah wasn't entirely sure how he'd reached the tiny house. He'd spent the last three hours trying to lose the flier on his tail and taking different highways and small secondary roads, in various directions.

Despite the pain that shot through his leg every time he took a turn, he'd made sure he'd lost his chasers, not taking any chances until he was nearly out of gas. Only then had he made his way back to the Formby woods.

Now, dizzy and in pain, he struggled to keep his balance and focus on what he was being asked.

"What? Why…?" And then it made sense. He groaned, swaying a bit as his hurt leg threatened to buckle. "Bowl… you thought it was a bowl…" He pushed the helmet off of his head. His arm hurt too. "No one followed me," he added, in a pained murmur. "It's alright."

* * *

**Ezra eased his grip on the injured boy, allowing himself to breathe a split-second sigh of relief before hoisting him up on one side. Josiah, still looking confused and scandalized, took the other side, and together they helped the Gryffindor inside.**

**Ezra had made one couch, two chairs, and two beds in the few hours that Noah had been away. It wasn't much; they could still do with a dinner table, for instance, but Ezra was wary of cutting down too many trees at once. Muggles often flew over woods in planes, and someone familiar with the area might notice a lot of trees missing and decide to investigate.**

**Once they eased him onto the sofa, Josiah glared at Ezra as though he'd punched somebody.**

**"What did you do that for?" he asked lowly, clearly fed up with both boys at the moment. The Ravenclaw bent down to pull up one leg of Noah's pants, which were soaked with blood. "Get me the dittany," he said shortly.**

**Ezra summoned the dittany nonverbally and handed it over, trying to look as docile as possible.**

**"They might have captured him and taken his place," Ezra said reasonably, trying not to be distracting. "It's protocol-"**

**"Okay, just - shut up. Just shut up. Everyone shut up. I have to concentrate. And you!" he said, pointing at Noah with one blood-soaked finger before going back to the wound. "I can't believe you. I really can't. I was so worried, Noah Ledger. Didn't I tell you to be careful? What did I say to you before you left, huh?"**

**The blood on Noah's leg had slowed, and Josiah put a conjured gauze bandage on the gash. The room had fallen silent as per Josiah's request, but he didn't look any happier for it. He began silently examining Noah all over for signs of other injuries; he found one, and started to peel away his boyfriend's beloved leather jacket, which was now trashed.**

**"I am so tired of patching people up," he said bitterly, although his voice wavered a bit. He looked as though he might cry. "I am so…" he waved his wand with a shaky hand, closing up the scrapes on Noah's arm and patting some dittany onto them with a damp cloth.**

* * *

Noah winced as they helped him inside, but didn't complain. He felt rather dizzy and achy, and he was pretty pissed off about his motorbike being all scraped up now – although he was certain he shouldn't share that thought with anyone, much less he's very upset boyfriend.

He sat as quietly and meekly as he could, but when Jo exploded, making even Daniella back away slightly, he wished for a moment that he was still alone on the road. His pursuers didn't seem as scary.

He closed his eyes and held his breath as Jo tended the wound on his leg, but he couldn't keep from groaning when his boyfriend removed his jacket. Dry blood had stuck it to the arm. His favorite jacket…

"I'm sorry… I didn't do it on purpose," he murmured guiltily, then decided it was better to stay silent. He wasn't sure what made him feel worse, Jo being pissed off at him, or Jo nearly in tears.

Daniella, realizing she was the only one Jo could vent to or be angry at safely, stepped forward, licking her lips before joining her friend by the couch. "It's alright, Jo. He's back, that's all that matters."

* * *

**The wounds were mostly tended, but Jo was still fussing over Noah silently. There was a thin collection of water above his eyelashes, but he wasn't crying yet. His hands were shaking, but he could still use them. He could still do this. He could do what he needed to do, but once he was done…**

**"It's not all that matters," he said quietly, suddenly, and the facade crumbled quickly. Ezra took a small step back, trying to give the other boy space. "It's not all that fucking matters! If there are people chasing you while you're on the bike, Apparate back to me and forget the damn bike, Noah! Or is the bike so goddamned important that you didn't want to come home to me for saving it?!"**

**He threw the remaining bandages on the ground with impressive force and sobbed involuntarily, cradling his face in both open palms. He took a few shaking, labored breaths.**

**"You idiot," he whimpered after a few moments, wiping at his eyes. "You idiot, you big stupid idiot. Fuck that stupid bike. I never want to see it again. Idiot!"**

**He stuffed his wand back into his pocket with some effort and rushed off to one of the newly-generated bedrooms, slamming a door that Ezra had made only a few hours ago. A bit of sawdust fell off of the door frame and floated gently to the floor.**

**There was silence.**

**Ezra broke it by clearing his throat.**

**"How did you lose them, anyway?" he murmured, trying not to look directly at the other boy, for fear it would be incredibly awkward.**

* * *

Noah flinched, and it wasn't because of his wounds. He'd never seen Josiah like that. For a moment he was glad they weren't outside anymore, or Jo might just hex the bike to run over him multiple times. He opened his mouth, but Jo started to cry and Noah quickly looked at Daniella, at a loss.

Daniella had retreated slightly, not sure of how to deal with such a distressed Josiah.

"It wasn't… I tried-" Josiah left the room before Noah had time to form a full sentence; he stared at the closed door, then tried to get to his feet, cursing as a shot of pain spread through his leg.

Daniella pushed him down onto the couch again, not without sympathy. "Stay here. If he sees you on your feet, he might crack your thick skull open. I'll talk to him." And she disappeared into the bedroom.

Noah sighed, bewildered. He glanced at Ezra, looking away again. "Consider yourself lucky, next time you upset her," he muttered.

He huffed out a breath. "There was one guy on the street. I thought it was Avery, but I can't be sure, it was getting dark," he explained. "He hexed me, got my leg. I lost control of the bike," he lowered his voice then, "and hit a parked car. I think that's when I hurt my arm. I hexed him back and got out of there. Honestly, getting out of the bike and Apparating out of there would've taken me more time. He might've caught up to me," he said defensively, pausing to gauge Greengrass's reaction. "There was someone on a broomstick, so I drove in the opposite direction, all over the town, then into the highway. He was flying high, so I couldn't lose him. So I stopped under an overpass, and used a Disillusionment Charm on myself and the bike. I got out and drove away when another car passed by, to muffle the sound of the engine. I drove around for another hour or two, can't be sure, to make sure I'd lost him, before I came back here."

* * *

**Josiah stumbled into the bedroom, which was empty except for a few small piles of sawdust and the bed that Ezra had made earlier. There were boxes piled up against the wall, so high that the ones on top swayed threateningly as the solid boy plopped down onto the bed.**

**He was still crying; his cheeks were on fire.**

**The door opened and closed, and he sniffled loudly without looking.**

**"Don't," he said, his voice quivering. He didn't even know who it was, and he wasn't sure he cared. He wasn't sure there was anything that anyone could say to ease the pain that he felt, knowing that he very well could have lost Noah forever because of a stupid motorbike and someone else's stupid war. "Just don't. I don't want to talk right now."**

**The other form didn't budge, and Josiah uncovered his red, wet face and looked up at his best friend.**

**"I hate this so much," he whimpered, after a while. "This is so unfair."**

* * *

Daniella closed the door quietly behind her, gathering herself. It pained her to see her friend like that. When he sent her away, she just took another step into the room. "We stay together, remember?" She asked softly.

She sat on the edge of the bed, resting a comforting hand on Jo's shoulder. "Yes, it is. But we can get through it."

* * *

**Josiah let her rub his shoulder affectionately, although he continued staring at the floor morosely and sniffling. He could hear Ezra and Noah talking faintly in the next room; the thought just made him more upset, for some reason.**

**"He should have left the stupid bike," he told his friend, defensively. "That's what he'd have told me. He'd have never forgiven me if I'd done something like that. Can you imagine how he'd react? And there he goes, doing it himself. Like he's replaceable."**

**He stifled a small sob and wiped at his eyes bitterly.**

**"Ugh," he sighed. "How is it that you didn't even cry when Ezra came home covered in blood? You were so, so strong for him, and I'm just a blubbering mess."**

* * *

Daniella sighed. "He should've. But I'm sure he didn't make that choice to hurt you." She squeezed Jo's shoulder comfortingly. "Just look at your story with him. He changed everything because he wanted to be with you. He wouldn't just ruin that if he didn't know what he was doing, right?" She suggested, tentatively.

She lowered her head at his last comment, looking away. "I don't know," she murmured. She'd cried in the shower that night, while he rested on the couch, as the tension abandoned her body washed away by the stream of hot water. But Ezra didn't know that. All he'd seen was how angry she was about the stupid money. "I wasn't strong enough, though. In the end I still doubted him. It nearly cost me his love."

* * *

**Jo continued to sniffle miserably. Right now, he didn't trust himself to look at Noah, feeling as though he might explode or throw a hex, or both.**

**"I seriously hope not," was all he could manage to say thickly in reply. "Because it would be very, very daft of him if he did that now."**

**He listened to her reply, his gaze fixed on the crack between the floor and the bottom of the new solid wooden door. Part of him was grateful that Noah wasn't like Ezra; he still had some trouble expressing himself at times, sure, but he was… well, he was Noah. He had that boyish, affectionate quality, a sweet under layer that nobody got to see but him. What he had with Noah was very special.**

**He didn't want to lose it now.**

**He sighed.**

**"I'm just going to stay in here for a bit," he said feebly, gathering his quilt and scrunching himself up at the back of the bed, near the wall. "I'll be fine. Promise. Don't let Noah come in here, either, or I reckon I'll give him what-for."**

* * *

Daniella sighed, wishing she could do more for him. But heartaches needed time, as she had found out the hard way. She tucked his covers, placed a light, soothing kiss on the top of his head and promised him no one would disturb him, and that she'd bring him a sandwich later.

She joined the others, giving Noah a tense look when he looked at her with childish-like hopeful eyes. "Just… let him be, for a while." Then, she turned to Ezra. "Could you please take that thing to the shelter you built? It's best if no one looks at it for now," she murmured. "I'll make sandwiches for everyone."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Later that night, Noah lay on the sofa, thinking about what to do. Daniella had brought him pajamas to change into, and he felt much better, but didn't dare going into the bedroom. She'd said Jo wanted to be alone.

Fine, he could wait.

Actually, he could not.

He was uncomfortable and, more importantly, he was done with Jo being angry with him. Noah had scared him, yes, but hadn't he paid for it already?

He huffed, then looked at the door grumpily. He reached for his wand, then searched through his memories. Smiling, he thought intensely of two simple words – I'm sorry – and murmured, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

He wasn't sure if a Patronus could also deliver the feelings of its conjurer, but he put as much regret and meekness into it as he could. The albatross left his wand, and quickly disappeared into the bedroom, to deliver his message.

* * *

**Josiah had been looking at the wall for most of the night, picking at the plate Dan had brought him and feeling unsure of himself. He supposed that he might have been a wee bit too hard on Noah - he'd been upset, of course, but he was really just glad his boyfriend had come back alive. He'd been hurt, yes, but not fatally.**

**He was just beginning to think these things for the thousandth time on repeat when the room became unbearably bright. Josiah squinted against the silver-white light that now filled the room; when he looked up, he saw an albatross looking at him intently. He stared back.**

**"I'm sorry," said the albatross.**

**Josiah sighed. Oh, bother. He definitely wouldn't be able to sleep if Noah's bloody spirit bird was going to stare at him all night with that face.**

**He pointed his wand at the door and, with a subtle wave, removed the Charm that he'd placed on it after Dan had left. The door unlocked with a click.**

**Still feeling a bit sniffly, Josiah rolled back over and resumed his wall-staring. As much as he loved Noah, and as sorry as he might be, he was going to have to prove it.**

* * *

Noah perked up when he heard the soft click on the door. He waited for a few heartbeats, but nothing else happened.

"Oh, fine, then…" he muttered, leaving the sofa and quietly approaching the door. Taking a deep breath, he gave a light knock and opened the door slowly, poking his head inside, as if expecting to find a wand pointed at him, or some magically conjured object waiting to be thrown at him. "Can I come in?" he asked.

* * *

**Josiah, whose face was now buried in his pillow, let out a muffled sigh at Noah's question.**

**"I wouldn't've unlocked the door if you couldnae, now would I have?" he replied touchily. "Don't let the Charmed air out. It's hot outside."**

**After a few moments, he shifted and blearily lifted himself into a sitting position from the pillow. He brought the quilt with him, hugging it tightly as he leaned against the wall to look at Noah. His eyes were a bit swollen, and his nose was stuffy, but he was no longer crying.**

**He looked off to the side at the albatross, which was taking up most of the other half of the room with its large, guilty-looking face. He pursed his lips, but said nothing.**

* * *

Noah furrowed his brow at the sullen reply. He closed the door, looked at the albatross and, thinking that maybe it had been a stupid idea after all, waved his wand to make it disappear. Looking at Jo made him want to go to him and console him, so he looked at the floor instead.

"I didn't do it on purpose, you know? They attacked me when I was already driving away. It's not…" He closed his eyes and shook his head. That wasn't coming out as he'd planned. "I did my best to return as quickly as possible. I really did."

He licked his lips, hesitating. He'd given it a lot of thought. No one understood why a simple motorbike meant so much to him. They all thought it was just a futile toy for him. It was what it represented that was important to Noah.

He didn't regret any of the decisions he'd made. Not one of them. But the bike was all he had left from before, and he'd worked very hard to get it. So, he'd wanted to keep it with him, yes. But maybe now he couldn't any longer.

He looked up to meet Jo's eyes. "I'll never touch that bike again, if you don't want me to," he said slowly. "If it means you forgive me."

* * *

**Jo shook his head listlessly. He didn't want to hear this right now. He wasn't sure he wanted Noah to justify anything.**

**He had done his best.**

**At Noah's last words, Josiah looked up, his hazel eyes slanted with concern. He looked away guiltily.**

**"You don't have to give up your bike, Noah," he whispered, making a soft sound that might have been half-chuckle and half-sniffle. "That's not the point. It's not the point at all."**

**The quilt rumpled to the floor as the shorter boy stood, crossed the room, and buried his face in Noah's muscular chest. He squeezed tightly.**

**"The point is that I might have lost you, even though you were careful, and we were careful, and we did everything we could," he murmured, finally. "Don't you know how much that hurts?"**

* * *

Noah looked confused for a few moments, not sure what Jo wanted from him, after all. But he slipped his arms around his boyfriend nonetheless, cherishing the feeling.

"I know," he murmured back, finally. And he did. He loved Jo so much it hurt. He couldn't stand the thought of being there instead, not knowing where Jo was, certain something had gone wrong, and feeling useless to do something about it. He held him more tightly. "I know… but I don't think we'll be able to always avoid that, Jo," he said softly.

He kissed Jo softly. "But I will promise you one thing. I will always find my way back to you, no matter how long it takes."

* * *

**Jo closed his eyes tightly, trying not to cry again.**

**"Well, try," he whispered against Noah's chest, his voice quavering slightly. "At least promise me you'll try."**

**The dam of his willpower that had been holding his tears back finally gave, and more tears came. Jo wasn't sure if they were tears of happiness, or sadness, or anger, or fear; all he knew was that, right now, in the wake of all of these emotions, all of the deaths and attacks and chaos, that he needed to cry and he needed Noah to be there to hold him until he felt better.**

**Noah was the only person who could make him feel better. Dan did her best, and she was important to him, but she had Ezra - and Ezra had her. It wasn't fair to expect her to be on call for both of them.**

**It wasn't fair to expect Jo to continue on without Noah.**

**Their lips met, wet and soft, and Jo sniffled as he pulled away.**

**"Good," he murmured, managing a small, watery smile. "Because if you don't, I will find you, Noah Ledger, and I will hex you so hard your head will spin, do you hear?"**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah slipped out of bed very early next morning, leaving a very much asleep and much calmer Jo in bed. He found Daniella in the kitchen. A quick, but thorough questioning later, she was convinced he and Jo had sorted things out and was now sitting on one of the chairs, making a grocery list for them. She added a shorter list with some herbs and other things. She didn't tell him why she needed those, just asked him to get the items if they had the chance and things went smoothly.

Then, she gave him the last two sandwiches that had survived last night and two glasses of milk and went outside, to do… something.

Noah floated the breakfast back into the bedroom. It hovered in midair as he slipped back into bed, slipping a hand around Jo's waist. "Rise and shine," he called softly, teasingly, kissing his ear lobe.

* * *

**Josiah stirred, opening his eyes slowly against the bright morning light and turning awkwardly to face Noah, since his hip was pinned down. He smiled sleepily, nuzzling into the kiss. Then, he turned and grabbed the other boy's lips with his own. They parted after a few long, hazy seconds.**

**"G'morning," he said thickly through a half-yawn, stretching. It was then that he saw hovering plate, and his smile widened. "Oooh, you're forgiven, Mister Thoughtful." He fluffed his pillow and sat up.**

**"Sandwiches for breakfast," he said cheerily, grabbing the plate out of midair and sinking his teeth into one. It was mostly bread, but he could deal with that; he knew they were tight on money, and it wasn't as though he didn't like bread.**

**Still…**

**"Did she give you a list?" he asked hopefully, taking another bite.**

* * *

Noah smiled mischievously. "I thought I was forgiven last night," he purred, planting one last kiss on his neck before backing away to let him sit. He levitated the food closer, until it stopped in front of Jo.

He took the last sandwich and reached for the lists. "Yeah. We better go soon, because it seems like there's not much to eat anymore. She also gave me this," he showed him the second list. "Herbs and… seeds, I think. She said we should only get these if there's no problem and enough money."

* * *

**"You're extra forgiven now," Josiah replied teasingly, tracing Noah's jawline with his fingers.**

**He took another large bite of sandwich and reached for the lists in a silent gesture. He pulled them closer to examine them, reading with furrowed eyebrows as he chewed. He sighed through his nose. After a moment of silent pondering, he took the other list, too.**

**"Some of this you can only get in London," he said, after he'd finished chewing. "Is it even safe for us to go to London? Isn't that how Ezra nearly got himself sliced in two?" He furrowed his eyebrows, polishing off the rest of the sandwich, deep in thought. After a while, he got to his feet. The empty plate lay forgotten on the bedcovers.**

**"I'm going to get decent," he told Noah with a wry smile. "Since you already are, be a dear and go ask Ezra how he is at Human Transfiguration, would you?"**

* * *

Noah stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, pushed it down with the rest of the milk – thinking he'd do a whole lot for a mug of coffee instead – and left the bedroom.

He found Ezra outside, pointing his wand at some trees, further from the house. He waited until the boy paused whatever he was doing. "Hey, Greengrass," he called then. "Josiah wants to know if you're any good at Human Transfiguration."

* * *

**Ezra stood in front of a large pile of sawdust, wand held aloft. He'd woken up early, due in no small part to the fact that his nerves were frayed from all the fighting they'd been doing lately. He was loath to admit it, but it was taking a toll on him, even as exposed to dark magic as he had been in his youth. He kept struggling with the fact that it could have easily been him casting the curses, torturing people, killing them. Splitting up families and driving people mad with anguish…**

**How had he not realized sooner? The question haunted him almost constantly. It was the past, though; all he could do now was try to protect the others as best he could with what knowledge he had.**

**He had just been about to fashion a few tables when he heard Noah's voice behind him. It startled him, and he whipped around at high speed with distrust etched all over his face. Then, as quickly as the reflex had been triggered, he lowered his wand and rolled his eyes shut, sighing.**

**"Merlin's beard, Ledger," he grumbled, turning back to the sawdust. "I nearly doubled the amount of holes in your head. Don't do that to me."**

**It took him a few more seconds to process the question he'd been asked, at which point he looked back with an air of slight curiosity.**

**"I'm decent," he said, after a while. Of course, if Josiah was asking, he meant to use Transfiguration as a disguise on a level that he couldn't accomplish himself. It was a little flattering, but at the same time, the idea made him worry. "Although I daresay that sounds a little more involved than your average shopping trip."**

* * *

Noah tensed, eyeing Ezra's wand cautiously. He hadn't expected such a reaction from the other boy. He'd understood that kind of reaction the night before. He'd been pleased with it, even. He'd felt like he could trust Ezra to protect Jo to an extent if he was not around. But he hadn't expected him to be that… jumpy, still. It was something to keep in mind in the future.

"I will try not to," he said evenly, still studying the other boy. "I'm not sure what he has in mind. He saw Dan's lists and asked me to ask you that. Do you know why she wants those things?"

* * *

**Ezra quickly tucked his wand away, not wanting to create any more tension out of the moment than he already had. Then, he took his idle hands and rubbed at his eyes wearily.**

**"What things?" he asked, having not seen the lists yet. He had eaten breakfast early and come out into the woods, telling Daniella that he needed a bit of time to sort out his thoughts, which was the absolute truth.**

**"She mentioned she needed some potion ingredients, if that's what you mean," he said, after a beat of silence. "And on that note, I've made a list, as well. Since you're going," he added dryly, fishing around in the pocket of his torn, dirty shirt. He procured a small, ripped piece of parchment with three ingredients on it. They read: boomslang skin, streeler venom, powdered unicorn horn. He handed it to Noah, unabashed.**

**"In any event," he drawled, looking back at the sawdust and sighing. He supposed he would have plenty of time later. "I'll go back with you. The earlier you go, the better."**

* * *

"It was mostly herbs and seeds, so I suppose that's it, then." Noah was silent for a while, studying Ezra's short list and thinking of Daniella's as well. He nodded. "Yes, it's best if we plan this properly. Every time one of us goes out, something bad seems to happen. I could use a break."

They made their way back in silence. Daniella was already inside the house, taking dishes and other kitchen supplies out of the cardboard boxes.

"Jo!" Noah called.

* * *

**Jo, now fully dressed, edged his way out of the small bedroom and into the common area. He was dressed in Muggle denim and a blue t-shirt and had a black wizard's robe draped over his arm like an overcoat.**

**Also, he was blond.**

**"I could only do my hair," he said fretfully, running an idle hand through it. "My eyes wouldn't turn, but I don't suppose it matters so much… here, Noah, come here, I'll do yours, and then Ezra can get our faces."**

**Ezra pondered this for a moment, still slightly taken aback by the Ravenclaw boy's extremely golden hair.**

**"Beg pardon, but what exactly do you propose I do to your faces?" he asked with careful politeness. "You'll have to be a bit more specific."**

**Josiah sighed, as though explaining things just at the moment was a terrible bother. He stood on tiptoe and waved his wand over Noah's hair, which turned a deep chocolate brown. He turned to face the taller, paler boy then, holding up a small handled mirror.**

**"Just get my nose and cheeks a bit, and perhaps my teeth too, I'll tell you when," he said valiantly, inspecting his face critically with furrowed blond eyebrows. "Bloody hell, that looks a mess," he murmured, huffing out a small laugh.**

**Perturbed, Ezra took a few steps forward and pointed his long, thin jet black wand at the other boy's face. He waved it uncertainly. Josiah's nose elongated a bit, becoming less round and more sharp. He stopped.**

**"How's this?" he asked, cautiously.**

**"Well, don't just stop," said Josiah, still examining himself with interest. "You can go on and give it a bit of a bump in the bridge if you like. I always did fancy that look."**

* * *

Noah stopped abruptly at the sight of Jo. He made an odd sound – a strangled laugh – but then cleared his throat and tried not to frown when Jo changed his hair.

He ran a hand tentatively over it. "I propose you be very careful with them," he grumbled under his breath, but sighed resignedly as Ezra changed Jo's face.

He wasn't eager to have his face changed without even knowing if Greengrass knew how to put it back as it was supposed to be, after. "You can undo that later, right?" He asked, doubtfully, looking at Jo's new face. He didn't really care what Jo looked like, but at the same time he did. He did like that cute, round nose quite a lot.

* * *

**"That's the easy part," Ezra mumbled wearily. His brows were furrowed in concentration; he was holding his wand very, very carefully, afraid that any sudden movements would turn Josiah into a hook-nosed witch instead of a cover model with a masculine, gently curved nose. "Stop wiggling."**

**"Sorry," said Josiah, who had been holding his face at different angles to examine the other boy's handiwork.**

**The cheeks and teeth came next, and by the time he was done, Ezra had to admit that he was not immediately recognizable. The eyes, of course, were similar; there wasn't much you could do with those unless you used a potion, really. Eyes were incredibly delicate and hard to Transfigure or Charm.**

**Ezra sighed, feeling as though that small bit of magic had taken an hour to complete. Then, he turned to Noah, holding his wand tightly.**

**"You don't have to look so apprehensive," he said, with slight reproach.**

* * *

"I have sunglasses," Noah said. It took him effort to not take a step back when Ezra turned the wand at him. Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms and stood still. "Fine, just get it over with."

Daniella, who had been examining Jo's face in amused silence, perked up. "Oh, I have a pair too! You can use mine, Jo." She disappeared into the bedroom for a minute, to find them.

"I bought them for fun, a couple years ago," she said when she returned, handing them to Jo. "Listen, about that second list. I know some of those things will be risky to get, but I can grow most of them here after you get them, except the Erumpent Fluid and the Wartcap powder. I still have a little bit of each, so don't risk yourselves for those. Bring me the Dittany, the mistletoe berries, the knotgrass and the bursting mushrooms, and we'll be good."

* * *

**Ezra pursed his lips, trying as hard as he possibly could not to scowl at the Gryffindor's reaction. With a few quick but careful flicks, he broadened the other boy's jaw, widened his nose, and raised his cheekbones. He stepped back, figuring it would have to do, and tucked his wand away again. Josiah, meanwhile, was examining Daniella's sunglasses with amusement.**

**"Thanks," he told her, affectionately. He put them on and then looked at himself again in the mirror. "I look a bit like undercover Scotland Yard, really," he mused, giving Noah a wide, toothy smile. Then, as she began to speak more seriously, he pulled out the lists and began shuffling through them, as though to aid his memory.**

**"Well, we'll do our best," he said, giving her an indulgent smile. "But not if we don't get moving soon, that's for certain. Are you ready, Noah?" He looked over at his boyfriend, who was almost unrecognizable, and smiled.**

**"Wait," Ezra said suddenly, rifling around in his trouser pockets. He pulled out a handful of galleons - four, Josiah counted - and laid them in the Ravenclaw's hand. He stared at them for a moment, touched.**

**"I thought you didn't have any left," he said, sliding them gingerly into his pocket.**

**"Those are the last ones," Ezra murmured, not wanting to dwell on the thought too long. "Anyway, boomslang skin is expensive, so don't hold back if you need to use them."**

**He paused, looking off to the side.**

**"And be careful," he added to both of them, quietly.**

* * *

"Yes, please, be careful. And call us if you need anything," Daniella said seriously. She had a knot in her stomach. Every time they separated, someone returned hurt. "Don't be late," she whispered squeezing Jo's hand, before stepping back to let Noah join his boyfriend.

She thought she could still recognize her best friend with relative ease, but she figured no one would pay much attention to them if their general features weren't immediately recognizable.

Noah gave Ezra a short nod. "You too. Take care of everything around here." With that, he joined blond Jo, took his hand and they Apparated out.

It was a clear, warm day in Aberdeen and the alley they were in was empty. The main street was vibrant with life, though. Hopefully, that would work in their favor. "Alright. Let's get this done," he murmured to Jo, letting go of his hand, but walking as close to him as he could, without them tripping on each other's feet.

* * *

**Jo was thankful for the sunglasses as they arrived into bustling Aberdeen; the sun was out, and it was sweltering. He could taste the air from the harbor, feel the wind coming in off the water, and suddenly he felt a pang of nostalgia so sharp that it nearly physically pained him.**

**"Let's," he agreed, trying to remain pleasant despite everything. It was just Aberdeen, after all; not much happened in Aberdeen, despite it being one of Scotland's major cities. It was full of hardworking, kind people, and was surrounded still by rural land for miles and miles. As they turned out of the alley, a man with a sheep on a leash walked by them in the other direction. Josiah followed it with his eyes for a moment, grinning; nothing like a good old fashioned sheep on a leash to brighten your day.**

**The greengrocer was just down the street, and Jo pulled out the list, studying it in advance.**

**"Alright," he said, trying to sound determined. They reached the door; it opened with a silvery tinkle of bells. The air inside was nice and cool; there were high-powered fans set up in every corner. Jo sighed happily.**

**"I'll get the produce, you get the dry goods," he told Noah, grabbing a brown paper sack from a nearby counter. "You take the list, I've memorized it already. I'll come to the back and get you when I'm done."**

* * *

Noah wasn't sure he agreed with going different ways, but he supposed they'd get done faster that way. He took the list and took off. He'd accompanied his mother several times before to buy groceries, but usually he was there just to help carry everything; he'd never paid much attention.

He looked at the list, then up at the shelves, trying to figure out what to get first. He decided to start on the first alley and go through all of them, collecting everything he saw that was on the list on his way.

Finally, all he needed was the rice and beans. He looked up, trying to figure out how he'd missed those. There was a radio playing somewhere, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Seemed like the news, though; something about criminals.

Looking over to the next alley, he found what he needed, and forgot all about the radio.

* * *

**Josiah, who couldn't hear the radio at all over the roar of the fans in the front, was happily picking out ripe, juicy tomatoes, fresh carrots, and hearty looking potatoes and stuffing them into his paper sack. He also grabbed a few heads of greens, just to be safe; they only really needed the essentials, and salads were rather essential, in his opinion.**

**A small, wrinkled man with glasses was watching him as he worked, although he wasn't saying anything. It was a small store, but it had all the groceries they needed. Josiah peeked in the back to see where Noah had gone; he seemed to be holding a large bag of beans.**

**"He's coming," Josiah assured the man with a small smile before putting the paper sack on the counter between them. There was a box of candies near the register which looked to be chocolate. He pursed his lips and grabbed a handful, setting them down on the counter, too.**

**He hoped nobody would blame him; he hadn't had any sweets in an agonizingly long while. By the time Noah got back with his half of the shopping, the man had already rung up all of the produce and the sweets. Another minute passed, and he looked at Josiah critically over the top of his glasses.**

**"Nine pounds two pence," he said gruffly. "D'ye want a bag?"**

**Josiah fished a small black leather wallet out of the pocket of his jeans and pulled out one of the crisp twenty-pound notes that Ezra had split between them.**

**"Yes please," he said sweetly, as though he was oblivious to the man's attitude.**

* * *

Noah looked at the man with a slightly raised eyebrow, but said nothing. They didn't want to call attention to themselves, but he thought the man probably didn't have many regular clients with that attitude.

He waited until Jo received his change, then glanced at the man again and picked up the large bag without effort, heading towards the exit, until something stopped him in his tracks.

There was a large notice board along the wall, filled with promotions, ads for events, a small jobs section and a variety of announcements. It was the picture on a paper that was partially hidden under a county fair ad that made him pale. "Jo…" he called, pointing at the picture.

* * *

**Jo folded the change back into his wallet, letting the coins fall in haphazardly as he stuffed the wallet back into his jeans pocket. He grabbed the bag of produce and began to follow Noah closely out the door; Noah, however, stopped suddenly in his tracks, and Josiah accidentally on his heel.**

**"Sorry," he whispered, before looking up to see what Noah was staring at. It took him a moment, but once he'd found it, he knew immediately that something was seriously wrong. He cleared his throat, trying to maintain some semblance of calm even though his heart was hammering against his chest.**

**"Excuse me, sir, but who's this?" he called out, pointing to the wanted poster, which had a non-moving, black-and-white photo of Ezra Greengrass on it. He looked surly, as per usual, and the picture didn't really look out of place; it would be very easy to believe he was a criminal if Jo didn't know any better.**

**"Don't tell me you don't watch the telly," the man mumbled with a dry cough. "That there's the lad who blew up Stonehaven. Reckon you heard about that. Scotland Yard wants him for arson and murder, they do. Don't suppose he'll look as smug after he's been rotting in prison for 50 years, d'ye?"**

**The man let out a wheezing chuckle that made Josiah feel ill.**

**"No, I suppose not," he said carefully, turning slowly and grabbing Noah by the arm. Together, they exited the building and hurried back down the alley. Once they were alone again, Josiah looked up at Noah fearfully.**

**"This is bad," he said unnecessarily. "This is really, really bad. Here, give me your bag," he said absentmindedly, stuffing the produce sack into a smaller bag that looked like it wouldn't have held anything bigger than a changepurse. He took the other bag and stuffed that in, too. Then, he pulled his wizarding cloak on over his Muggle clothes and pocketed the sunglasses.**

**"We've got to hurry," he said, grabbing Noah and Apparating to Diagon Alley.**

* * *

"Oh, bloody hell," was all Noah could say at the man's words. Would they ever get another peaceful day?

He followed Jo hurriedly, barely having time to take out his sunglasses and put the cloak over his shoulders before Jo grabbed him.

A second later, they were surrounded by wizards and witches, and Noah felt his focus sharpen immediately. Their enemies didn't need to hide here. Among that many people walking by carrying a wand, they couldn't see an attack until it hit them.

He was so focused on the people that it took him a few seconds to realize what was different in Diagon Alley. All the store windows and most of the walls had parchments. The same face looked back at them with that distant, murky look on all of them, and under it, a reward of 1000 Galleons was offered to whoever delivered Ezra to the Ministry of Magic.

"It just got worse," he whispered to Jo. "Much, much worse." Suddenly, he was very glad neither Ezra nor Daniella were there to see that.

He made sure his wand was in his immediate reach and took Jo's arm as subtly as he could. "Just stay close," he said, his voice deep and raspy with concern. If he thought of it rationally, Jo was far better with Charms, but he would do anything to keep him safe. Anything.

* * *

**Jo was grateful for the crowd; the Alley was busy this morning, and that meant that fewer people would take a second look at them. He was pretty sure that Ezra's Transfiguration work would hold up to scrutiny, but he would also take any help they could get to stay as safe as possible.**

**Speaking of Ezra…**

**"Oh my," Josiah whispered breathlessly, fumbling for his wand and resting it against his palm. "Well, they must want him quite an awful lot." He grimaced as ten Ezras scowled at him on his way by.**

**He hurried to the potion supply store, pushed his way in, and began going down the list at lightning speed.**

**"Can I help you?" a tall, stately witch asked from behind him, making him jump. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.**

**"Oh no, no thank you, I'm sure I can find everything," he said, in a pitch two octaves higher than normal. "I'm just in a hurry to get back before it rains, you see, so if you'll excuse me…"**

**He picked up a basket and threw two bunches of knotgrass into it unceremoniously.**

* * *

"Do you think Logan did all of this by himself?" Noah asked. "Is he really that powerful within the Ministry?"

They made their way to the potion supply store; Noah tried not to look over his shoulder, although he had the impression people's eyes lingered on them for a second too long. They can't recognize us, he told himself and they entered the store.

He looked over Jo's shoulder at the list and took a jar of bursting mushrooms from the top shelf. "Before it rains?" he murmured to Jo, with a hint of amusement despite the situation. He studied the jar. "Can she grow some of these, or do we need to buy them prepared differently?" He asked, but put the jar in the basket anyway.

He read through the labels hurriedly, trying to find the mint and the lavender she'd also asked for. He put a bunch of each into the basket, then looked around. "Where's the Dittany?"

* * *

**"I don't know," Josiah whispered in reply, not wanting to think of Logan at any time or place but especially not at this time and this particular place. He bustled around the store like an herb granny, picking up things, putting them down, muttering to himself, and generally looking out of sorts.**

**"Did she want essence or leaf?" he asked, looking at his list critically. It didn't say. "I suppose we'd really better get both." He did.**

**After they'd collected all the herbs and seeds she'd asked for, he looked around helplessly and then found the woman's eyes again. She had been staring at them the entire time. It was very unnerving.**

**"Er, could we trouble you for some boomslang skin?" he asked sweetly. The woman stared at him for a moment, as though she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, and in the end did neither and made her way behind the desk where she produced a small golden key and stuck it in the lock of an ornate wooden cupboard. From there, she took out a small box and laid it on the counter in front of them.**

**"Thank you," Josiah said weakly, setting the basket down. The woman gave everything a once over, looked at the things in Noah's arms, and said plainly:**

**"Three galleons, six sickles."**

**Josiah pursed his lips, taking out the four galleons that Ezra had so freely given, and put them into the old woman's hand.**

**That got a smile out of her.**

**"Thank you, dearies," she said in a slightly condescending manner that Josiah associated with Ministry officials and bad teachers. "Do come again."**

* * *

"Just take it, either way," Noah said, but Jo had already done so, so he stood quietly, studying the woman closely as Jo paid. And now they were officially out of galleons. He only had a few knuts and a sickle left.

He missed the days where he could've just gone for ice cream with Jo. Now that he thought of it, they never had the chance to do so and, looking at all the Ezra faces staring at them, he wasn't sure they would ever be able to. He pushed away those depressing thoughts and left the store, looking at both sides of the street.

He recognized a couple Gryffindors further down the street, looking at the pamphlets and saying something, and turned the other way. "Can we get out of here now?" He said, reaching out for Jo's hand.

* * *

**Jo didn't waste any time in taking Noah's hand and Apparating back to the Formby Wood. When they arrived, Ezra was standing outside of the cottage, doing something with sawdust. Josiah let go of Noah's hand and used it to grab Ezra by the collar instead.**

**"Get inside," he said breathlessly, without remorse. Ezra flailed a bit, caught by surprise, but he hadn't had time to grab his wand and the hand on his collar was too insistent to argue with at the moment. Once they had all piled into the cottage, however, the Slytherin gave him a scathing look.**

**"I don't suppose they teach you manners in Scotland?" he grumped, rubbing the back of his neck where his collar had squeezed him.**

**"You're wanted," said Josiah, unfazed. "There are posters everywhere. The Muggles are after you for arson and murder, and there are about a million posters in Wizarding London calling for your capture as a suspected Death Eater."**


	24. A Lesson in the Dark Arts

_**Chapter 24 - A Lesson in the Dark Arts**_

**Ezra paled at Jo's words; after the shock had worn off, though, his eyes darkened with resignation.**

**"Yes, I suppose they would resort to that," he said quietly, closing his eyes and sighing. Then, he gave his housemates another look. He took out his wand and waved it twice. Both of them reverted to their normal selves.**

**"That was bothering me," he mumbled in explanation. "Did you get everything?"**

* * *

Daniella had been distractedly organizing the space that would function as a kitchen to her liking, but she wasn't getting much done. She was too anxious for Jo and Noah.

When she heard their voices, she dropped everything to meet them.

"He's what?!" She stopped abruptly, eyes skipping from Jo to Noah, who confirmed with a silent nod.

Noah added, "They're offering 1000 Galleons for you." He was surprised by the lack of a reation from Ezra. He could not show his face anywhere again without the risk of being caught.

"How can you stay so calm?" Daniella asked Ezra. "What are we going to do about this? Or will you just spend the rest of your life drinking Polyjuice potion or Transfiguring your face?"

* * *

**Ezra snorted wryly as Noah told him the price on his head. One thousand galleons? His parents were going soft, clearly. That wasn't even a half of a quarter of what he was worth.**

**"It appears my parents have given up on hiring your brother to find me," he said dryly to Daniella, although he didn't meet her eyes. He was certain that he could only remain nonchalant if he didn't look at the fear and hurt in her eyes. "They're using their money and connections to try to drag me out by force."**

**He rifled through the bag of potion ingredients, picking out the things that were his. The small box containing boomslang skin was in the bottom of the bag; he picked it up gingerly, opening it with gentle fingertips to confirm its contents before cradling it in his arms.**

**"What good would it do me to not be calm?" he asked them, still examining the bag's contents. He technically could spend the rest of his life as someone else, but that wasn't really his style. The words rolled around in his mind, unsaid, because of the effect they would have:**

**Now that this was his reality, he wasn't sure how long his life was going to be.**

**"I'm going to start brewing this while it's fresh," he murmured, grasping a small vial of venom. "When I'm done, I daresay it will be time for a lesson in the Dark Arts."**

* * *

Daniella just looked at him, her expression changing from shock, to fear, to something close to anger. But he didn't even bother to look at her. He might love her, and enjoy being with her when everything was relatively fine, and he wanted to know she would be on his side.

But when things got difficult, he just shut out. He didn't count on her, not really. Whatever was on his mind, he would want to sort things out by himself, not realizing – or not caring – if it put him in danger; if it might end up taking him away from her. How could someone be so careless about their own life?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine," she murmured, mostly to herself. That was just fine. "I'll be outside," she said, taking the bag with the seeds and the herbs and leaving the small, crowded house.

* * *

**Ezra watched her leave, letting his mouth hang open very slightly, as though he might say something and had then thought better of it. The door opened and closed, and he was alone with Noah and Josiah.**

**"Honestly," he said under his breath, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his temple. His eyebrows were furrowed. He stood that way for a few moments, as though trying to will away the scene that had just unfolded.**

**Then, he let all of the ingredients fall back onto the table and stalked across the room, opened the door, and went outside after her. He shut the door a little harder than was necessary.**

**"How many times have you told me not to do that?" he demanded, enunciating painfully clearly. "Please, enlighten me, Daniella. Tell me what I can do for you. Should I cry? Should I curl up in bed and do nothing? Mourn? What is it that I should be doing? How can I satisfy your persistent need for me to express vulnerability?"**

**He clenched his jaw. His brown eyes, filled with impressive and unusual heat, were fixed on her.**

* * *

Daniella stopped, clenching the bag so hard her fingernails were digging into her skin. She turned to look at him; just looked at him, at the heat in his eyes.

She didn't have the strength to argue anymore. Since she'd met him, she'd had to poke and push and tease until she got a glimpse of that fire. Maybe she was asking for something he just couldn't give.

She let her arms fall at her sides. "Just tell me, with all honesty, that you know you're not alone anymore. That you don't have to make decisions alone like when you lived with your family," she said quietly, for once not meeting that rare fire with her own emotions. "Tell me that you are alone simply because you want to be and I'll leave you be."

She shrugged. "I won't let my emotions interfere anymore. You want to fix everything by yourself, like it's not a big deal, or even much of a challenge? Fine, I'll give you all the space you want. That way you can mull it over on your own. I won't insist anymore."

She started to turn away, but stopped in mid-movement and said, "Just ask yourself one thing: what do you think losing you will do to me?"

She knelt down next to a patch of freshly tended soil and put the bag down beside her.

* * *

**"I don't think I'm alone," Ezra said defensively. "And if I'm alone, it's only because everyone keeps pushing me away! You know, maybe people expect me to be alone, so they don't treat me like they treat other people," he added heatedly. "You saw the way Ledger flinched from me earlier. Do you think that doesn't hurt? It hurts, Daniella. It's not easy. When you walk away from me, it hurts even more. I don't even know what I've done now."**

**He sighed audibly, pressing both palms against his face and then moving them up through his hair, ruffling it.**

**"Daniella, this is a war."**

**His eyes were still closed, and he felt almost as though he was saying it for his own benefit.**

**"I could die tomorrow. We could all die tomorrow. I can't just promise you - I can't promise you I won't take risks. I have a cause now. I have to fight. Do you understand? I _have_ to fight."**

**His eyes flicked open, and he stared at her for a few moments. Tears welled up in his eyes, itchy and hot in the sweltering humidity.**

**"I need you to understand," he said thickly. "No matter what happens to me, I can't let them do this to innocent people. Not after meeting you. Not after meeting Johnston and Ledger. Not with everything I know. I am directly involved. I am responsible. I need you to understand me. And even if I die fighting, I need you to promise me that you'll love me. Otherwise there's nothing left for me to fight for."**

* * *

Daniella shut her eyes, as if with that she could keep the words out, as if with that she could keep her heart safe. Suddenly, the fear of losing him forever was so powerful and so real, she couldn't breathe; tears slipped out despite her efforts to contain them.

They were out hunting him. They would take him away, and he would fight them without thinking twice, even if he was outnumbered and outpowered. She covered her face with her hands, struggling to regain some shreds of control.

"I _do_ understand. That's why I'm afraid," she said after what seemed like a long time. "It is a war, but it won't end if they catch you, if they ki-" her voice broke, "…if they kill you."

She looked up at him, knowing she'd stay by his side whether he wanted her to or not.

"I will always love you no matter what, Ezra; I'll love you more than I thought I could possibly love anyone. But you need to understand I can't live without you anymore. If you die fighting, I will die trying to save you."

* * *

**They were both crying now, and Ezra had lost all semblance of manners at trying to keep his tears contained. His face was wet for what seemed like the first time since his childhood - forever ago. He closed the distance between them and knelt beside her, needing to be close to her now more than ever.**

**"No, it won't stop," he agreed, his voice hoarse. "But I can slow them down. I can make an impact, even a short one, and it might make the difference for someone else. For you, or for Johnston, or Ledger, or anyone else they're looking for."**

**He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes determinedly.**

**"All that matters to me is that we are together," he whispered, putting his forehead against hers. "And I will do all that I can, I will use everything I know, to keep us all safe. I promise you."**

**He was silent for a few moments, feeling uncomfortably warm from his sudden bout of crying. Then, he slid something off of his hand; it was a pure silver ring, set with a finely cut emerald. It had the Greengrass family crest on one side, and so he resented having to honor his family at the same time - but he didn't have anything else to give her.**

**He took her hand in his and held out the ring.**

**"I promise you, Daniella," he repeated, softly. He let his other hand brush some hair away from her cheek. "Let me prove it to you."**

* * *

Daniella leaned against him. As long as she could feel his arms around her, she could believe they would be alright.

"Just promise me you won't take off on your own, thinking it's for the best, thinking I'll be better off that way, because I won't. And I want you to know that, if they do catch you, I _will_ go after you. We will all go. You are not alone anymore," she said intensely. "So, your only mission, if they take you from me, is to stay alive until I get there." She held on to him more tightly. "Just stay alive for me, Ezra Greengrass," she whispered.

She sniffed, trying to stop crying. Then, he took his family ring. She stared at it, not quite reacting until he took her hand.

"Oh, sweet Merlin… What are you doing?" She breathed, barely daring to believe her eyes.

* * *

**"I'm not alone anymore," Ezra confirmed, meeting her eyes in earnest. "But I daresay you should know me better than to think I would go easily."**

**He smirked a little, halfheartedly, and managed a breathy laugh.**

**There was a pause, in which Ezra could feel his heart hammering against his chest relentlessly, that he lost all sense of reality and was momentarily floating in a dream-like state far, far away; all he knew was that he loved this woman, loved her more than life itself, and if anyone was ever going to bear his children, it would be her.**

**It could only, ever, be her.**

**"I'm asking you to marry me, Daniella Hawke," he whispered aloud. He searched her eyes, needing affirmation.**

* * *

Her hands shook slightly as Daniella finally looked away from the ring and met his eyes. Her heart hammered against her chest making her feel a little lightheaded. Or maybe it had been his question.

There was nothing she wanted more than to build a life with him, to live each day to make him happy, to relish that fire for the rest of her life.

She smiled, huffed out a chuckle, then wiped her eyes. Yes. Had she said it out loud? "Yes," she whispered back. "Yes!" She gave him a wet, tear salty kiss. "I will marry you."

* * *

**Ezra hadn't realized that he had needed to hear her say it; he hadn't realized the kind of joy it would bring him, having her approval. He lost himself in the kiss for a few moments****, then stroked the back of her hair.**

**Merlin, she was so beautiful.**

**"You are so beautiful," he murmured, giving her lips a soft peck again. Then, he slipped the ring, the ring that he had always worn, the ring that symbolized so much that was now irrelevant, onto her finger. It magically adjusted itself to fit.**

**The ring, which had been a relic of his past, was now a token of their future together. He couldn't help but think that it was how it was supposed to be.**

**"They're going to think we've hexed each other," he said into her ear, grinning.**

* * *

His words warmed her heart. Even if she had never felt particularly stunning, she did feel very beautiful right then.

For a moment, she was intensely aware of the ring on her finger, the weight of that moment. Then it adjusted itself magically around her slender, delicate finger; and nothing had ever been so right, so in place. Her smile widened as she studied the delicate, intricate details of the ring like she'd never seen it before.

It widened even more when she met his eyes, her heart bursting with happiness. She brushed a finger lightly over his lips, over that sweet, mischievous grin that was just hers.

"We're actually getting married…" she chuckled, with a mix of wonder and disbelief. Then, at his last words, the chuckle turned into a giggle. "Jo's going to freak out," she whispered. "Are you ready to share the news?"

* * *

**Ezra nuzzled against her hand, grabbed it gently, and kissed it.**

**"We're actually getting married," he confirmed, laughing. "Although there's still the matter of finding someone to hold the ceremony... you know what, we'll fuss with that later."**

**He stood, pulling her up with him; at her words, though, he faked a grimace.**

**"I'm not sure I could ever be ready," he mused. "I should probably Conjure some earplugs."**

**Nevertheless, he led her over to the cottage door, still holding her hand firmly in his own. He twisted the doorknob, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her.**

**"You're holding hands," said Josiah, astutely, but also cautiously solemn. "I heard yelling, and now you're holding hands. Merlin's pants, I don't think I can handle it. Noah, did we buy any booze?"**

* * *

"I don't think they'd be very helpful," Daniella teased, walking with him back into the cottage, the bag of seeds forgotten on the patch of dirt she'd been working on.

"I may have slipped a pack of beers in there," Noah said innocently, eyeing the couple with curiosity. "Wine was too expensive."

Daniella tried very, very hard to keep a straight face as Jo studied her, but he knew her too well. Unable to keep quiet any longer, she broke into a wide grin and held out her hand for Jo to see it. The emerald seemed to gleam with a light of its own. "I'll need some help planning a reception," she said innocently.

Noah looked at the ring on her finger, then at Ezra. He offered the Slytherin a sideways smirk. "So, it seems like it was pretty simple, after all!" He stepped forward, holding out his hand to greet Ezra. "Congratulations!"

* * *

**Ezra looked at Noah's hand somewhat tentatively, and then, after a moment of consideration and a slight pang of happiness that the other boy had reached out to him, took the larger, more calloused hand in his own and shook.**

**"It seems so," he said, smiling a small smile. They broke the handshake, and Ezra looked over just in time to see Daniella show the ring to Josiah, who was still sitting. He had one hand over his heart, as though he was having trouble breathing. Then, his eyes welled up with tears unexpectedly. Ezra raised his eyebrows, alarmed.**

**"Don't look at me like that," said Josiah with a small, watery chuckle. He got up and rushed over to Dan, wrapping her up in a tight, warm hug. "Congratulations, love. I'm so happy for you."**

**Ezra stood to the side awkwardly, although he was still smiling faintly. It was then that Josiah got his attention by resting a hand on his arm. The shorter boy stared at him for a moment, as though he was deciding something.**

**Then, he hugged Ezra, too.**

**Ezra blinked for a moment, stunned, before raising a hand to pat Josiah on the back gingerly.**

**"I'm sorry I called you dementor-boy behind your back when we were at Hogwarts," he said breathlessly, pulling away. Ezra blinked again, this time arching one eyebrow. "I mean, you are kind of surly, but it's all for the good, really. Oh, I'm all a-flutter now."**

* * *

Noah shook Ezra's hand a bit awkwardly, but truly happy for the two of them. He hesitated, then gave Daniella a quick, light hug and wished them the best.

Daniella didn't have time to feel awkward at all before Jo lunged at her. She slipped her arms around her friend. "Thanks, Jo," she murmured, still grinning.

She watched as Jo and Ezra danced around each other with amusement, then pressed her lips together and looked away at Jo's confession.

"Why don't you get those beers?" She asked Noah.

Noah quickly reached for the cabinet that Jo had prepared with a cooling charm and took out four bottles of beer. He passed them around. "Who's making the toast?" He asked lightly.

* * *

**Ezra accepted a beer, turning it around to look at the label curiously. He'd never had Muggle beer; he'd only ever had butterbeer and firewhiskey and mead. He wondered briefly if it was any good, and supposed he would have to wait for someone to toast before he could find out.**

**"I'll do it," Josiah said brightly, taking his own beer and popping the cap off with the edge of his wand. Ezra did, too; the entire room was full of fizzing noises and the clink of beer caps for a moment.**

**"To Daniella Hawke and Ezra Greengrass - the only Slytherins I have ever loved, or even liked, to be honest," he said with mock seriousness. "May you live a long and prosperous life together and have many beautiful children. Cheers."**

**Josiah held his bottle towards the middle, and Ezra met it with his own, offering a small breathy chuckle. He took his first sip of beer; the taste was so bitter that it made him scrunch up his eyes for a moment.**

**"That's interesting," he said hoarsely, examining the bottle again. He was so used to the sweetness of butterbeer that he found the whole experience rather jarring. "And this is quite popular?"**

**He paused for a moment, thinking of how silly Muggles were really, when a pang of nostalgia hit him.**

**"I do wish we could have brought the television," he said lowly, somewhat morose.**

* * *

Daniella had tried beer only once before, and couldn't say she was a fan, but she wasn't about to complain with Noah's choice. So she took it and popped the cap, joining the toast.

"_Many children?_" Daniella gasped. Then she grinned wickedly. "You're aware you'll be in the one babysitting, right, Uncle Jo?" She winked at him.

She took a small sip, stopping before Ezra's face made the beer she'd drank come back out through her nose. She wiped her mouth delicately with one hand, then gave Ezra a teasing smirk.

"We could've brought it, but you'd have to settle for just looking at the black screen." She leaned against him, and whispered, "but don't worry, I'll keep you entertained."

* * *

**The four of them spent hours drinking beer and laughing, and it soon grew dark in their little corner of the woods. Ezra, who had been cheerful, if a little quiet, noticed this and began to fiddle with his wand. His eyes were distant with thought.**

**"We should get started," he said absentmindedly. Josiah, who had been nursing a second beer, looked at him cluelessly.**

**"Get started doing what?" he asked politely, leaning forward a bit. His eyes were sparkling; Ezra almost changed his mind. But this was important - now that the hunt was out for him, anything could happen. If something did happen to him and he hadn't prepared them properly, they wouldn't have a very good chance of survival.**

**"Well, I thought you could all take turns hexing me," he said dryly, folding his fingers under his chin. "And I could teach you some spells that would make Merlin cringe."**

**"Ooooh," said Josiah, interestedly. Then, he faltered. "Are you sure you want me to hex you?"**

* * *

Daniella had drunk, had laughed, had kept the dark cloud of concern as far in the back of her mind as she could. All the while, though, a certainty had been growing inside her, quietly. The certainty that she would do anything to protect what she had. Anything. That thought scared her more than a little bit, since it brought out a side of her she didn't know existed; the side of her that probably explained why she'd been put in Slytherin.

But she would have time to deal with that later. When Ezra spoke, she looked at her fiancé – the word made her feel a mix of wonder and disbelief –, gave his hand a brief squeeze, put the empty bottle down and reached for her wand.

There was no time to waste. She had no time to lose. She was fully aware of Logan's abilities in a duel, and there was no reason to believe any of his companions would be any worse. It was up to her to rise to the occasion.

"Yes, we should," she agreed. She looked at Jo, then at Noah. "It's either him or me," she said. "Your choice."

After a moment's hesitation, Noah rubbed his hands and stood as well. After all that had happened to them, he needed to feel like he was doing something more than just running away all the time. "I'm in!"

* * *

**Josiah pursed his lips, looking from Dan to Ezra and then deciding that, if he was going to pretend one of them was a Death Eater, it would probably need to be Ezra. He drained the rest of his drink with a hint of seriousness before pulling out his willow wand.**

**"What are you going to teach us?" he asked curiously, unable to keep a hint of excitement out of his voice. It wasn't that he was truly interested in the Dark Arts - they were awful, of course - but the idea of learning about them was too much for any Ravenclaw to turn up his or her nose at.**

**Noah and Daniella seemed to be in agreement, and Ezra looked back down at his wand, thinking. He was quiet for a few moments.**

**"Let's make this simple," he murmured, after a while. "What do you want me to teach you?"**

**Josiah shuffled for a moment.**

**"Like, anything?" he asked, in a small voice.**

**"Anything," Ezra repeated seriously.**

* * *

Daniella listened to the exchange silently. She kept looking at Ezra thoughtfully long after they fell silent. Neither of them had any idea what they were getting into, and the fact that Ezra gave them freedom to ask for anything was disturbing.

She figured her request could be just as disturbing, but she had to make it. "I know my-" She paused, "Logan," she continued, her eyes fixed on Ezra even though she was talking to everyone. "Since he won't get the cooperation from any of us to get to you," she hesitated again, biting her lower lip. "I want to know what it's like to be under the Imperius Curse," she said slowly. "I want to be able to fight it."

* * *

**All eyes turned to Dan as she began to speak, and Ezra's in particular, because it was her that he was most afraid of fighting. Really, the last thing he wanted to do was hex his fiancée, but if it meant keeping her safe and able to fight, potentially without him****…**

**He would do anything.**

**At her request, however, he set his jaw a bit. He searched her eyes, feeling a little helpless. He had asked, after all. He'd said anything.**

**He broke their eye contact and gripped his wand, pulling himself to his feet.**

**"Go to the other side of the room," he told her quietly, motioning vaguely to the other side of the small living area. "Both of you should watch closely," he murmured to Josiah and Noah.**

**Once they were both in place, Ezra closed his eyes, trying to get in the right frame of mind for casting an Unforgivable Curse. Many people thought knowing the incantation was enough, and in some way, it was all that could feasibly be taught. But the mindset… you had to want it.**

**You had to feel it in the marrow of your bones. You had to crave the control.**

* * *

Daniella walked to the opposite side, holding her wand tightly. She sighed slowly, feeling more nervous than she'd like to admit. She looked up at Ezra, who had closed his eyes, and tried to smile. "Just don't make me act like a chicken," she murmured, trying to make a joke, but her smile quickly faded.

* * *

**Ezra didn't smile; his brown eyes were dark, almost black, clouded with purpose. After she had affirmed her consent, he held out his wand. It was long, thin, almost perfectly straight except for a slight curve in the middle. His fingers were slender around it, pale-white in contrast.**

**His hand was shaking lightly.**

**"Imperio," he half-whispered. He saw her eyes go cloudy immediately, and it took all of his willpower not to falter. He could feel her will being trapped under his own, a strange sensation that made him want to be ill.**

**He clenched his jaw.**

**_Walk across the room_, he instructed, thinking with the whole of his being.**

* * *

Daniella noticed the darkness in his expression for a brief moment, before everything was erased from her mind. Her muscles relaxed, free of the tension of the last few weeks, free of every concern or emotion that wasn't an ethereal sense of peace and numbness.

A voice filled her head, echoing around her mind. '_Walk across the room_,' it said. Walk across the room.

Her legs moved without any conscious decision from her.

* * *

**Slowly, trance-like, Daniella crossed the room to him. When she was close enough to touch, he reached out for her; he grabbed her arms gently, holding her upright.**

**He released her. Her eyes cleared, returning to that beautiful, haunting shade of blue-green.**

**His hands were still shaking.**

**"That's how it feels," he murmured, clearing his throat as the words came out strangled. "For most people, it happens just like that. The mind is like an open door, waiting for someone to take the opportunity to let themselves in. It takes practice… sometimes years of practice… to be able to close your mind. And once you've learned how…" he trailed off, casting his eyes toward the floor.**

**"It's a hard habit to break," he finished, feebly. He pocketed his wand, and then he crossed to the other side of the room where Daniella had stood just moments before.**

**"I'll show you what it looks like," he said, letting his hands fall passively at his sides. "I'll show you, Daniella. You have to look at me and want - more than anything - to control me. Do you understand? You have to need to control me."**

* * *

The feel of those hands on her arms made something inside Daniella flicker. But, before she could understand what it was, Ezra released her, and her thoughts rushed in again.

She listened in silence, looking back at the other side of the room. She'd failed. And now he wanted her to…

He was already standing across the room, looking at her intently. Control him? Like everyone had tried to do to him all his life? She opened her mouth to object, but his look was determined. She closed her eyes; her thumb kept rubbing the ring he'd just offered her.

She needed to learn, no matter how painful it was. "Alright," she murmured. She didn't look at the other two boys, didn't even look Ezra in the eyes, knowing that if she did, she wouldn't have the guts to do as he asked.

She cleared her throat and raised her wand. She needed a few seconds to keep it steady enough. She looked at Ezra then, trying to think of a situation where she'd need him to do something specific. To keep him save, she told herself, trying not to think that _that_ was her brother's argument as well.

A few moments passed. Her shoulders slowly started to relax.

"Imperio," she said quietly. She had to steel herself when she saw the light disappear from his eyes, and held her wand more fiercely. When she was confident her emotions were under control, she said, "Jump!"

* * *

**A familiar feeling rolled over Ezra, a feeling so peaceful that he thought he might collapse due to the laxity of his muscles. Yes, he'd been very stressed recently, very preoccupied. But not now - all of that was gone now. He knew how this worked. He only had to wait for the voice.**

**Jump, said the voice. It was Daniella's voice, stern but pleading. It went directly to his heart, filling him up; her will covered him like a thick blanket.**

**His leg twitched, his knee bent slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed; a sharp crack of his own vitality ripped through the fog of the Curse like electricity.**

**I don't want to, he replied, stubbornly. He reeled for a moment as the Curse billowed over him again, drowning his protests.**

**Jump. Jump. Jump.**

**Ezra grit his teeth. It might have been painful, if he could feel anything.**

**Everything happened in very quick succession.**

**He let out a cry that was half-yell and half-gasp, as though he'd been trapped underwater; his knees hit the floor, hard enough to be painful; he bent over, assuming a fetal position, resting his head on the cold stone floor.**

**He lay there for a moment, panting, exhausted.**

**"I won't," he said through clenched teeth. He still felt the tickle at the back of his mind. Years. It had taken him years, but it still hurt in the end. His mouth tasted metallic and bitter, and he realized that his tongue was bleeding, probably from being bitten.**

* * *

Daniella took her other hand to the wand, trying to make Ezra jump. The clash of wills went on for what seemed like days, until…

Ezra fell down; his cry pierced through her, shattering the illusion of control. Startled, Daniella struggled to remember how to release him from the curse. Then, she ran across the room, falling to her knees beside him, brushing the hair away from his face, trying to see if he was hurt. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "I'm so sorry!"

* * *

**Ezra relished the feel of Daniella's cool hand against his forehead. The tickling was gone. He took one last deep breath and then huffed out a small puff of air that might have been a weak attempt at a laugh.**

**"It's okay," he murmured hoarsely. "I'm okay."**

**He unfolded slowly, dabbing at the blood that had trickled out of his mouth and onto his bottom lip. It wasn't much. With his other hand, he brushed at her long, golden-brown hair.**

**"I'm okay. You did well," he praised her, with a small half-smile. "Do you understand now? You must always remember that the voice is your enemy. No matter who it is. No matter if you love them, love them more than life itself. That voice is your enemy. You have to fight it."**

**Josiah, who had been looking on worriedly for some time, knit his hands together anxiously and finally spoke.**

**"You said it took years," he whispered, with a mix of pity and horror. "How many times…?"**

**"Many," Ezra answered, rolling his eyes shut wryly. He smoothed his hair meticulously, trying to slow his mind. "Many, many times."**

**He stood, pulling Daniella up with him.**

**"We'll practice this again later," he said. "We should practice duelling, too."**

* * *

"I understand," Daniella said with a nod, her voice still husky with anxiety. "I'll do better next time."

She tried not to think of all those other times; tried not to wonder if someone had even bothered to make sure he was well before forcing him to do it all over again.

She would practice that again. Over and over until she was sure she could resist it; because she knew if she could resist Ezra's voice, she could definitely resist Logan's.

"Alright, we can duel now, but you'll take a break first," she said firmly. It might not have been a cursed order, but she wasn't going to give him a chance to object either. "Jo and Noah can practice for a while," she said, looking at Jo for support.

Noah had been looking at the scene in front of him, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and eyes focused on the two Slytherins, studying them the same way he would study a Quidditch opponent.

He had known Daniella long enough to be aware of how strong-minded she was, but she hadn't even hesitated before following that simple command. And Ezra, who had spent years training, had struggled to fight a voice he loved.

He pushed off of the wall, sighing at the perspective of dueling with his boyfriend, not sure how to stop the urge to let Jo hurt him before he hurt Jo. "So, how do you want to do this?" He asked Jo.

* * *

**Josiah, still looking at Ezra worriedly, nodded at Dan's words. Then, he turned to face Noah, his face a mask of anxiety and determination.**

**"Preferably bloodlessly," he replied, giving his boyfriend a small smile that was almost a smirk. "Don't go easy on me, Noah Ledger. You know better."**

**The pudgier boy cleared the couch and stepped back into a more open area of the living room, wand held aloft. Despite himself, his heart was pounding; he was good at Charms, yes, but not offensive ones. The thought of hurting people was terrible to him - he could manage a Stinging Hex when he was very determined, but other times****…**

**"St-stupefy," he murmured uncertainly. For a moment, he'd thought it had work, and he closed one eye instinctively; a small jet of red sparks shot out of his wand and sizzled harmlessly on the stone floor. Panicking, he realized that this left him open to an attack, and he quickly yelled, "Protego!"**

* * *

Noah held his wand high, aiming it at Jo, not sure if his boyfriend's expression made him want to laugh or worry. He avoided the first Hex easily, taking a small step to the side. He could've explored that moment of vulnerability, but he focused on creating his own bubble shield properly instead. He didn't do it quite as easily as Jo yet.

He shook his head. "Now, now, Jo. You're already good at those. Come on, attack me," he teased, his eyes fixed on Jo's wand hand. "How else can you protect your friends?"

"Stupefy!" He knew his hexes would never get through Jo's shields, so he needed him to focus on something other than just defending himself. Especially because Death Eaters would use curses he couldn't defend himself against, like Logan had. "Come on, Jo, they're attacking your friends!" He provoked.

* * *

**Jo looked at Noah with wide, uncertain eyes; his lips were pursed. For some reason, his hand was shaking and he couldn't get it to stop.**

**How else could he protect his friends?**

**He flung a nonverbal curse that culminated in a beam of orange light and landed on the back of the couch with a menacing hiss. It startled Ezra, whose head was quite nearby, and he scooted a few inches to the side.**

**"I can't," Josiah said in a small voice, looking at the floor. He dropped his wand back to the side. "I can't. I can't think straight."**

**Ezra, whose eyebrows were still furrowed in worry from his earlier close call, sighed.**

**"Let's try it this way," he murmured, running a hand through his already-unkempt hair. "Johnston, your assignment is to stun Ledger. Use any method at your disposal." He looked up at Noah for approval, then back to Josiah, who looked uneasy.**

* * *

Noah looked at the place on the couch where Josiah's curse hit, then back at Jo. His aim was really bad when he got nervous. He took one step to the opposite side of where Ezra and Daniella were.

"I'm right here, Jo," he coerced. He nodded at Ezra's words. "Just look at me. If you don't stun me, I'm going outside and I'll do something very stupid," he teased. He was going to pay for it later, but there was no other choice. He needed to rile him up, so he could forget his nerves. It usually worked on Chasers at least. "Maybe I'll go out on my bike for a while. All alone. I don't even know where yet, but somewhere with a lot of wizards. Even if it's a stupid idea."

* * *

**Josiah looked up sharply at Noah's mention of the bike, and anger flared up in him against his will. He knew it was stupid - Noah was obviously saying those things on purpose just to make him upset. Rationally, he shouldn't let it affect him. It was a trap.**

**But it was a well-placed trap, and Jo grit his teeth at the memory.**

**Noah covered in blood. Noah covered in blood for that stupid, stupid bike.**

**"****_Stupefy!_****" he said, with better aim and much more conviction.**

* * *

Noah had about half a second to prepare for the hit; when he saw Jo's eyes darkening with anger, he thought that maybe he'd pushed a bit too far. He didn't have time to strengthen his shield, before the hex hit him fully on the chest.

Daniella winced at the sound of Noah's bulky body hitting the floor. "Well, then…" She peeked over at the stunned boy, then at Josiah. "That was impressive!"

* * *

**As Noah fell with a dull, room-shaking thud, Josiah's nerves peaked so much that he nearly dropped his wand.**

**"Oh," he said softly, rushing over to Noah's side. "I'm so, so sorry. _Rennervate!_" He waved his wand over the other boy hastily, bringing him back to consciousness.**

**"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, checking over his boyfriend for any obvious injuries. "Maybe it was too much," he murmured, looking up at Ezra with some disdain.**

**Ezra looked back plainly, unfazed.**

**"No, it was good," he said silkily, feeling strong enough to stand again. "You might have done a bit more forcefully, even. A muscular person doesn't stay down for long."**

**He gave Noah a small, feral smile, offering him a pale arm.**

* * *

Noah opened his eyes to find Jo looking at him, his brows furrowed with concern. He groaned a bit, trying to move. His chest was a bit sore, and his elbow hurt where he'd hit the ground. "Wow, remind me to never irritate you again…" he said, but he grinned at Jo.

"I'm fine," he assured him. "It was nothing I'm not used to." He took Ezra's hand and got back on his feet.

"We can probably work on our aim tomorrow, I'll set some empty bottles outside for us," he suggested. Then, he focused on Ezra, as if he was their Captain. "What now?" he asked, awaiting further instructions.

* * *

**Ezra crumpled a little under Noah's weight; resisting Daniella's Curse earlier had taken more out of him than he'd realized. Or, perhaps, he thought with a bit of disdain, he was just not very strong.**

**"Now," Ezra replied, straightening his back again. "It's your task to stun me, Ledger. We're both a bit worse for wear, so I don't see how it could be any more level than it is now."**

**He pulled out his wand with a flourish, raising his eyebrows.**

* * *

The grin vanished from Noah's face. Much as it hurt his pride, he was quite aware that the Slytherin was far better than him in a duel. He gave Jo a quick glance before picking up his wand and moving to the side again, to face Ezra.

He'd been studying the Slytherin. Noah's only advantage in a confrontation with him would be his reflexes, acquired from years of Quidditch. But he was the one attacking now and, as far as he could tell, the easier way to get Ezra was by catching him off guard, which wouldn't be likely right now.

He licked his lips, not sure how much he could trust Ezra's apparent soreness. Trying to get into the mood, he remembered that DADA class, months ago, where Greengrass had accidentally hit Jo.

He aimed and murmured, "_Stupefy!"_

* * *

**Ezra narrowed his eyes, studying the other boy's lips and then the quick - almost too-quick - movement of his wand. He managed a hasty jump back and a weak, barely acceptable Shield Charm; he smiled a small, grim smile, humming in the back of his throat.**

**The shield disintegrated, and with a quick movement, three large, green-black snakes erupted from the tip of his wand. They hit the floor with an angry hiss and began slithering quickly across the room.**

**"We'll stay here all night if we have to, Ledger," he drawled teasingly.**

* * *

Noah took a small step back at the sight of the snakes, splitting his attention between them and Ezra's wand. He exhaled softly, smirking inwardly at the other boy's words. _Challenge accepted._

He moved a few inches to his left, as the snake on his right was approaching more quickly. He only had one shot at this. Silently thanking the years as a Beater under his belt, he pretended to focus all of his attention on the snakes, while keeping Greengrass on line of sight. "_Confringo!_" he enunciated clearly, making the snake explode messily.

Immediately, he turned to the second one – perfectly aligned with Ezra from his stand point – as if he was going to take care of it too, opened his mouth and, in the very last moment, raised his wand to Ezra and said, _"Stupefy!"_ with all his determination.

"No need," he added, lowering his wand.

* * *

**Ezra smirked as Noah recoiled, caught off guard by the snakes slithering toward him. He didn't flinch as snake bits showered the room; he merely smiled, somewhat lazily.**

**"Creative," he praised, getting ready to raise his wand and stun the boy again. He was currently focused on the other snake. _Silly_, Ezra thought idly to himself. Anyone could see that something like that would leave your defenses wide open...**

**And then, much to his surprise, he was hit with a jet of red light squarely in the chest. He toppled back with a dull, limp thud.**

**Josiah beamed.**

**"Well done," he murmured, squeezing Noah's arm approvingly as he scooted by and made his way over to Ezra. "_Rennervate,_" he said solemnly. Ezra's eyes flickered open; he furrowed his eyebrows.**

**Then, he laughed.**

**"Fair enough," he said weakly, but with good humor.**

* * *

Noah gave Ezra a lopsided grin, offered his hand in turn to help him up and then stepped aside to let Daniella fuss at him.

"We will do this again, Greengrass, when you're back in shape," Noah said seriously. He wouldn't be the one pulling them down because he was the weakest at Charms, even if it meant working day and night, by himself.

"Tomorrow," Daniella said firmly. "I think we've all had our share for a first day." She studied Ezra intently. "You should really get some rest now," she said softly. "Jo, can you help me fix us something for dinner?"

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra was staring deeply into the contents of his ornate silver cauldron. The potion he was brewing was nothing special; it was only a mild concoction to aid sleep, which he felt that they would be needing increasingly in the next few months. Years, maybe. He wasn't entirely sure anymore. The fact remained that they would need it, though, and even though Daniella had nudged him off to bed early after their... lessons, he hadn't been able to turn off his mind enough to sleep.**

**He stirred the lilac brew gently. The steam, which was periwinkle in color, began to rise to the ceiling, covering the whole upper half of the small room in a fine, mint-scented mist.**

**He was thinking about the wedding.**

* * *

Daniella woke up when she turned around and didn't find Ezra's warm body next to her on the bed. Rubbing her eyes, she got up on her elbow and looked around.

He had his back to the bed, staring – judging by the soft periwinkle steam above his head – into his cauldron, seeming lost in thought. She breathed in; it smelled nice, at least.

She slipped out of bed and kissed the point where his neck met his shoulder, sliding a hand around his waist. "What are you up to?" She peeked into the cauldron's contents.

* * *

**Ezra blinked into the soft mist, only a little startled, as he heard rustling followed by Daniella's soft voice behind him.**

**"I couldn't sleep," he murmured equally quietly in reply. He relished the feel of her lips on his neck; he closed his eyes and smiled into the comfort of her presence. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." His eyes followed hers to the velvet-smooth lavender liquid in his cauldron. "It's just a Dozing Draught. I thought it might help."**

**It would help with the lack of sleep, anyway, he thought idly. He wasn't sure there was anything that could help the rest of him, what with him being simultaneously a wanted and soon-to-be-married man.**

**He found her hand at his side, took it in his own, and brought it to his lips, where he kissed it gently. Then, he conjured a small silver cup.**

**"You can get back into bed if you like. I'll join you."**

**He dipped the cup into the liquid's surface, under which it temporarily disappeared; when he brought it up, the excess potion beaded and rolled off, leaving no trace on the outside of the vessel. Ezra tilted his head back and drained the cup.**

* * *

Daniella had felt a nagging headache after their… lesson, and she hadn't even managed to resist his curse. She could only imagine what all that effort had done to him.

She slipped back under the sheets and waited for him. Slowly, she was starting to read his expressions better. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was concerned, though.

She gave him a small smile when he joined her. "Where would you like to go on our honeymoon?" She asked, in an attempt to distract him. "Any ideas?"

* * *

**Ezra siphoned the potion slowly into a large cobalt apothecary jar. He corked the top carefully, sealed it with magic, and waved his wand once more to clean out the inside of his cauldron.**

**Then, he rolled lazily into bed. His body settled warmly against Daniella's; he smirked in the dark at her question.**

**"Somewhere safe," he whispered, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes. "A deserted island off the southern coast of France, perhaps. Or the Orient. I doubt we'd be found in the Orient."**

**He kissed her shoulder. The potion was kicking in; a gentle fog rolled over his mind, which seemed to slow. He blinked through half-lidded eyes at the woman he loved.**

**"Anywhere, really," he murmured. "As long as we're together and safe, I'm not going to kick up a fuss. We do have to do the deed first, mind."**

* * *

Daniella smiled at his options, all the while running her fingers soothingly through his hair. "Maybe they wouldn't find us, but you might feel tempted to sell me for a dozen camels and a barrel of spices," she teased. "I'll let you know, if you accept anything less than a hundred camels, I'll feel insulted."

"We do," she sighed, slowly starting to acknowledge the huge list of things they'd have to take care of. Then, she realized she wasn't exactly sure of what needed to be on that list.

She'd never been the type of girl to daydream about her wedding day. If she was perfectly honest, she'd never thought she'd get married at all; most of the time, she tried to avoid being set up with anyone her parents chose, instead.

"I suppose we'll have our work cut short, since we're on the run. No big guest list, or fancy ceremony…" she murmured after a long thoughtful silence, not sure if he was still awake. Her smile widened. Yes, she liked that idea. "Would you have liked a big wedding?" She asked, realizing she wasn't sure what his thoughts were on that.

* * *

**The gentle fingertips raking along his scalp made his eyes ease shut again, and he sighed a soft, contented sigh. A hint of a smile graced his lips.**

**"Really," he said thickly, with mock offense. "If I'm worth 4,000 galleons, you're worth at least double that."**

**Her words glided over him, but didn't stick; the potion he'd ingested was kicking in with full force now, and he was having a rather gentle, peaceful floating sensation. The candid exchange segued into long silence, wherein only their breathing was audible against the quiet of the cottage.**

**Her voice broke the fog again; he realized he'd almost drifted off, and his eyelashes fluttered sleepily before involuntarily closing themselves.**

**"I don't think I ever wanted to be married," he murmured quietly, fatigue blunting his words. "Seemed a dreadful proposition, before I met you."**

**He shifted, sniffing tiredly and wedging his arm under the pillow. His eyes were still closed.**

**"Perhaps we can invite some house elves," he said hopefully. Then, he fell asleep.**


	25. Flying

_**Chapter 25 - Flying**_

When Noah slipped out of bed, the next morning, the cottage was still silent. Everyone was still in bed, it seemed. But Noah couldn't sleep. Since the previous night, something had grown restless inside of him. He needed to train; needed to sharpen whatever skills he might have… and hopefully he would discover some soon.

He picked an apple, rubbed it on his shirt to clean it and bit into it. Holding it between his teeth, he grabbed all the empty bottles of beer and took them outside. It would be another hot day, it seemed, but there was still a nice, cool breeze and the woods were still covered in shadows.

There was a stump in the clear area where Ezra had been taking down trees. He settled them there. When the others were up and ready, they could use them to practice. Ezra could probably perform a Gemino Curse on them to make more.

Until then, using his time alone, he quickly finished his apple, threw the seeds away and went back into the cottage. He searched for a piece of parchment and wrote:

"I'm outside, flying. I'll be nearby."

He left it on the newly made table, where Jo could easily spot it – the last thing he needed was for his boyfriend to freak out again if he didn't see him – grabbed his broom and left the cottage.

He got on the broomstick and took off, slowly increasing speed as he dodged one tree after another. A wild smile blossomed in his lips as adrenaline rushed through his veins, his senses awakening slowly after months. He'd missed that.

* * *

**Ezra stirred slowly, trying to postpone the opening of his eyes for as long as possible. The early morning air was quiet, still, and just a touch crisp; the woods outside were so dense that all he could hear were the very nearest birds. Unfortunately, by the time he realized all of this, he was very much awake with no hope of returning to his warm, comfortable slumber.**

**He rolled over and out of the bed, stretched lavishly, and opened the door.**

**Josiah, who was also in his pajamas, looked over from his place in the kitchen.**

**"Morning," he murmured, arranging teacups around the small table. "Fancy a cuppa?"**

**Ezra rubbed one eye and was silent for a few moments. It was still a touch early for him to pretend to be social. The Ravenclaw pushed a full, steaming cup of tea toward Ezra's side of the table. It was unsweetened, just the way he took it.**

**They might not be the best of friends, but they were at least getting used to each other.**

**"Ta," he said sleepily. He lowered himself into a chair and raised the cup cautiously to his lips. It was only then that he realized there was someone missing. "Is Ledger still asleep?" he inquired.**

**"Noah's out flying at the moment," Josiah replied, too politely to be normal. He poured himself some tea, added two lumps of sugar, and took the seat across from Ezra. He stirred the steaming liquid a little too vigorously before chancing another look up.**

**Ezra's eyebrows twitched very slightly, and he gave a small, careful nod.**

**"Oh," he said, for lack of anything better to contribute. "Then, perhaps we should go...?"**

**"Not without my tea, I'm not," Josiah said dryly. "But you can, if you fancy having him boss you about at this hour without any nourishment."**

**Ezra considered this, then took another long, desperate sip of tea.**

* * *

Daniella woke up with the laziness of having slept for too long. She stretched, looked around the room, then heard the hushed voices of the others in the kitchen.

She only found two of her boys in the kitchen, though. Maybe she hadn't been the last one to wake up, after…

Noah pushed the front door open and entered the cottage then, interrupting her thoughts. He was holding his broomstick, looking way happier than she thought was acceptable for that time of the day.

"Finally, you're all up," Noah said grinning. He put the broom aside, picked another apple from the small basket and took a large bite. "Are you ready? It's a perfect day, it's a waste to spend inside!"

Daniella frowned at him, murmured "Good morning," and took her seat at the table, pouring tea into a cup, determined to enjoy her breakfast without having to think about taking her feet off of the ground.

* * *

**Daniella had only just joined them when the door opened with gusto; Ezra followed her gaze and rested his eyes, too, on Noah. He was pink-tinged and windswept. The mere sight of him made Ezra want to crawl back into bed.**

**"If you keep up that nonsense, it's going to be very difficult to pretend to be happy to see you," he mumbled shortly, pouring himself another cup of tea. He'd had just enough time to warm up all of his mental faculties, and each and every sarcastic piston was running at full steam.**

**Josiah smiled weakly, producing a fourth cup and pushing it toward Noah hopefully.**

**"Good flight?" he asked, hoping that Noah's enthusiasm would hold long enough for him to put decent clothes on.**

* * *

Noah's grin wavered slightly at the lack of an enthusiastic response, but not for long. He studied Ezra with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes. He hadn't forgotten the snakes yet.

He accepted the tea Jo pushed at him, but he couldn't sit down. He had too much energy to stay still. A small dry leaf fell from his sleeve onto the table as he moved.

"It was amazing! It's not like flying out in the open obviously. And all the trees might be tricky for you guys, for now. So we'll stay around the house, in this clearing. For now."

He gulped the tea, then looked around at them, wanting to shove them off to their rooms to get changed. Then he thought better of it; that would just make them argue with him and take longer.

"I also took all the bottles outside. I thought we could practice with them after the flying lesson. Maybe we could Charm them to move around," he said, trying to spark Jo's interest. He glanced at Ezra. "Do you know how to perform the Gemino Curse? We don't have that many…"

* * *

**Ezra pursed his lips at Noah's persistent cheerfulness; Josiah wrinkled his nose at the dry leaf that floated onto the table he'd just washed. He used his wand to vanish it promptly before looking back up at his boyfriend.**

**"I assume that's why you look like you've been living in the mountains for a month," he ventured sassily. He studied Noah's tan, well-featured face; how could he not love that face? His smirk dissolved into a genuine smile.**

**At least something was making Noah happy. He would at least pretend to enjoy himself, if only because it was important to Noah.**

**"Sounds good to me," he murmured, pushing away his empty cup. "I'll go get decent. It's probably best to get started before it gets too awfully hot," he added, a subtle, verbal prod that Ezra recognized and resented.**

**Unfortunately, his cup, too, was empty again. He couldn't really justify having three cups of breakfast tea, even before a nerve-wracking broom ride.**

**"Yes, fine," he said wearily, looking from Jo to Dan to Noah, the latter of whom was looking at him particularly expectantly. "I'll duplicate your bottles," he assured the Gryffindor. "Keep your pants on."**

**Both boys rose from the table and went in separate directions.**

* * *

Noah brushed a hand over his hair and shrugged sheepishly. "It's not easy to avoid every single brunch." Hopefully Jo wouldn't notice the scrapes on his shoulder.

"I will try," Noah replied to Ezra. "Just 'cause you asked so nicely. I'll wait outside." He looked at Daniella intently. "I'll be waiting for you as well," he said.

Daniella narrowed her eyes at him. She'd pretended to be sick in her first year, only so she could avoid the flying lessons in Hogwarts.

"You do realize I make most of your meals, don't you?" she said threateningly.

Noah just looked at her, that annoyingly cheery grin on his lips.

A few moments passed. Daniella sighed.

"Fine, I'll get dressed," she muttered, defeated.

* * *

**Ezra emerged a few minutes later, hastily clad in a faded green shirt and a pair of Muggle denim trousers. It pained him, but the truth was that he no longer had an excuse to dress up. His best white shirt had been ruined with blood - not even laundry potion could take out a stain like that. There was no one around to admire his well-brushed suit jackets anymore; he was too busy turning trees into sawdust and running for his life to worry about something so trivial. His hair was getting a bit longer, too, and it was much harder to manage since he'd run out of hair potion.**

**He was coming to the realization that it was much harder to be poor having once been rich; however, it was especially hard to be poor, formerly rich, and pretty.**

**The front door of the cottage fell shut behind him with a clatter.**

**"What sort of training do you have in mind?" he asked warily, eyeing the incredibly well-polished broomstick. He didn't hate flying; in fact, he rather liked it. He'd had several brooms when he was younger, because Pureblood children learned to fly young and well. But he'd never been the type to follow Quidditch, per se, so the skill had been largely lost on him when he'd entered Hogwarts and discovered other, more interesting things.**

**He still didn't like the looks of those trees, though.**

* * *

Noah stood outside, studying the small clearing. They didn't have much space, so he hoped they'd start feeling confident enough to get into the trees soon.

He looked over his shoulder at Ezra. For some reason, he really wanted this to go well. He wasn't sure why he wanted to impress the others, or why he felt like he had something to prove to Ezra.

"Well, we're not practicing for Quidditch. I figure, if any of you needs to use a broomstick, it's to escape somewhere or someone. You want to go high and away fast, and you'll most likely need to use your wand at the same time."

He paused when Daniella came out of the cottage, dressed in denims and a sleeveless white shirt, holding her wand and looking at him with barely contained resentment.

"So," Noah continued seriously, "my goal is to teach the three of you how to balance on a moving broomstick with one hand, while escaping hexes and maybe trying to hex something back. But I need to see how you fly first." He stretched out his arm, pushing the broomstick towards Ezra.

* * *

**Ezra listened, staring pensively up at the dense canopy of trees. He couldn't deny that being able to ride a broom was a good skill for a witch or wizard. If he or Ledger had to make a quick getaway on a broomstick, at least they'd have a fair shot. He thought of Johnston, though, who was a little clumsy and, objectively, heavier than the rest of them...**

**As if on cue, the shorter boy appeared through the front door and joined them, listening in on their mostly one-sided conversation. He was wearing a worn t-shirt that must have been black once; it had a few holes near the collar that were the size of a pencil eraser. His calves were exposed by his loose denim shorts. He'd come just in time to hear Noah using words like 'height' and 'fast', and he pursed his lips a little.**

**"How high?" he asked, a bit put out. His question was lost, however, when Noah thrust the broomstick toward Ezra with silent implication.**

**Ezra reached out with one pale hand and wrapped his thin fingers around the polished handle. It was easy to tell that it was a quality broom; it had a good width, good heft, and the bristles were well-maintained.**

**Still, it had been a long time since he'd flown.**

**"Right," he said, to no one in particular. He lifted one leg over the stick of the broom and took one long, serious look at the ground.**

**He gave an experimental hop. The broom, ever-obedient, hovered some four feet in the air. The responsiveness caught him rather by surprise; his old broom had gained altitude much more slowly. He tightened his grip on the broomstick. The wind rustled his hair gently, as though coaxing him.**

**Ezra furrowed his eyebrows for a split second before leaning forward and taking off into the top of the clearing. It was a nice feeling, really. Refreshing.**

**Until he got a twig to the face, that was.**

**"Bloody hell," he mumbled, swerving a bit in midair before coming to a queasy hover, in which he brought one hand up to feel at his face. It wasn't bleeding, but he had a rather impressive whelp. "Bloody trees!" he called out, also to no one in particular.**

**He did another lap around the clearing before landing, smoothly but with a scowl.**

**He handed the broom back to Noah, still nursing the side of his face absentmindedly.**

**"Well, you weren't kidding," he said, sourly.**

* * *

Noah crossed his arms and followed the flight closely, glad that at least one of them knew how to ride a broomstick.

He took a few mental notes on what he'd have to work on with Ezra the most as he accepted his broomstick back.

"No, I don't usually kid about flying," he said not without a teasing note. "You're not bad. But you'll need your dominant hand free to use your wand, so you'll have to focus on controlling your flight with your other hand, now." He glanced at his face, where he'd hit the twig. "Be prepared for a few more hits against the branches."

Then, he looked at Jo and smiled expectantly. "Would you mind going next?"

He wasn't looking forward to hand the broomstick over to Daniella, that was for sure. She looked like she was considering smacking him upside the head with it. He wondered why she disliked flying so much.

* * *

**Josiah waffled for a moment under Noah's gaze, trying to find any excuse to stall for a few more moments while he settled his nerves.**

**"Oh, sure, yeah, let me just... have a look..." he trailed off, motioning toward Ezra with his wand; a small golden spark flew off and fizzled out somewhere around Ezra's left eye. Josiah offered a small, meek smile, which Ezra didn't return. Instead, he closed his eyes slowly and rubbed his hand gingerly along the side of his face.**

**"I'm fine," he said, without any trace of sympathy or enthusiasm. "Don't mind me."**

**Jo, feeling betrayed, pursed his lips and lowered his wand. He'd made the man tea! Typical Slytherin.**

**"Fine," he grumbled, stuffing his wand into his pocket and taking the proffered broom with both hands. He straddled it awkwardly, trying to shift his weight evenly, and kicked off. The broom rose, but somewhat less than when Ezra had tried it; Josiah wasn't sure if that meant that the other boy was more skilled with a broomstick, or if...**

**His cheeks flushed pink, and he leaned forward just to get out of the immediate vicinity of the others. This turned out to be a mistake, however, because he hadn't properly prepared himself for how fast the broom could actually go.**

**"Merlin's pants!" he half-squeaked, coming to a full stop some ten feet above the ground. From where he was, though, it looked like fifty. He was gripping the handle so hard that his knuckles were white. "Um?" he called down uncertainly, hoping for some tidbit of helpful instruction that would help him to not feel a sense of impending doom.**

* * *

Noah cleared his throat to keep a straight face. Jo's face on a broomstick would always be one of his favorite things ever. "Good, Jo. Just relax your fingers." He took a couple of steps away from the others, looking up at Jo. "Remember our lesson? You'll be fine, just give it a gentle nudge. That broom is just a little faster than the other one."

He held his wand, just in case Jo really did fall off and he needed to create a Cushioning Charm. "I've got you, Jo," he cheered. "Whenever you're ready, show me what you can do. I want to see everything we practiced before."

* * *

**Jo tried to ease his fingers around the handle, but all he managed to do was make a very concerned face and wiggle his fingertips a bit. It was no use. He was petrified; he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.**

**"It was a lot different last time," he replied, too low for any of the others to hear him from so far away. With some difficulty, he turned the broom around and started to make his way around the clearing.**

**Slowly.**

**"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ezra mused, just loud enough for Noah to hear him. "He doesn't look very comfortable."**

**This was true, of course, but he was less concerned for Josiah's immediate safety - Ledger was watching him like a hawk, and he had more natural padding than any of them - and more concerned about the fact that the boy looked ready to cry. Forcing someone to do something they found terrifying might be one way to break them of their phobia, but Ezra wasn't entirely sure it was the best way.**

**Josiah, who had inched his way to the furthest edge of the clearing, was well out of earshot. He had risen to approximately fifteen feet, but didn't seem keen on going any higher. He closed his eyes for a split second, trying to force himself to relax.**

**Something buzzed around his ear, and he squealed again, jerking upward so suddenly that he immediately gained five feet and, panicking, overcompensated his descent. The broom soared downward, and Jo jerked up again just in time to save the broomstick and both of his legs a fate that was sure to be, if not devastating, at least relatively painful.**

**He jumped off of the broom, which quivered to a halt; he grabbed it out of the air and stalked back over to Noah. He held the broom out wordlessly, feeling pale and shaky and rather like he needed another lie down.**

**"I can't," he mumbled, looking off to the side.**

* * *

Noah didn't look away from Josiah. "If he has to fall off of his broom, it's best to do it here with us than when he's trying to escape a Death Eater, don't you think?" he asked back to Ezra, quietly, not showing how tight his chest was. He wasn't particularly enjoying putting Jo through this. "I don't like making him feel that way, but what if-"

Jo lost control of the broom then and Noah promptly took a few steps closer to him. He regained some sort of control, though, and Noah barely had time to push his heart back down into his chest before Jo walked up to him.

The Gryffindor took the broom off of his boyfriend's hands and offered him a comforting hug. "It's alright, Jo. You did well." He sighed, wondering if Green grass was right. "You don't have to do it again if you don't want to…" he conceded. He'd find a way to keep Jo safe without needing a broom.

* * *

**Jo leaned into Noah, resting his chin on the other boy's shoulder and looking pensively into the forest. Then, slowly, he pulled away.**

**"I'll think about it," he murmured, offering a small, uneasy smile. He was still shaking a bit from the shock of losing control of the broomstick. "There was a bee, is all; scared me proper, that did."**

**He lowered himself into a sitting position on the soft, slightly damp forest floor and folded his legs.**

* * *

Daniella had been silent the whole time, hoping they'd forget she was there, struggling between feeling confident and very insecure.

When Noah turned to look at her, she settled for insecure, but licked her lips, composing a determined expression.

She knew how to fly. Her brother had taught her when she was five or six years old. It hadn't been a particularly fun experience though, and she'd avoided the activity ever since.

The silence stretched uncomfortably. Huffing out a breath, she grabbed the broomstick without meeting Noah's eyes. He was going to say something, then stopped himself, but didn't let go of the broom.

She looked up at him. "I know how to fly," she said in annoyed defiance.

"Did you learn before going to Hogwarts?" Noah asked, not sure what to expect from her.

She just nodded.

He studied her a few seconds longer. "Just show me what you can do," he settled for. "Don't take unnecessary risks."

Daniella slipped her wand into her back pocket and straddled the broomstick.

Logan had owned a Cleansweep. She knew the Nimbus was faster, but her problem wasn't the speed as much as the heights. She held on to the handle to keep her hands from shaking. Her heart was pounding, but she took off the ground with relative ease.

It wasn't so bad, she told herself, as long as she didn't look down. She took a few deep breaths and motioned forward, but before she had moved three feet away from the group, Noah's voice reached her.

"A little higher, Daniella. You're barely two feet off the ground."

_And that's high enough_, she thought, but didn't say, because her teeth were firmly clenched. She rose a little higher, a faint whimper escaping her throat. She moved forward. It'll be over soon, she told herself, but then she looked down.

Her stomach dropped and she felt a little dizzy. "Oh, sweet Merlin's underpants," she breathed and closed her eyes and her hands more tightly around the handle.

The broom sped forward.

"Turn, Daniella," came Noah's voice a moment later. "Turn now!"

She opened her eyes, and a tree was coming at her way too fast. She hadn't been watching where she was going. "Shit!" She turned the broom and avoided that tree, cursing violently, but another one showed up in front of her. She was going too fast to be able to avoid it too, but she still pushed the broom all the way to the left.

The turn was so abrupt she lost her balance. She missed the tree by a few inches, but her arm hit a branch and she slid off of the broom.

Daniella tried to hold on, but her fingers slipped before she could bring the broomstick back down.

She braced herself for a painful fall, but landed on something fluffy instead, before hopping off onto the ground and landing on a half-seating awkward position.

"Owww!" she grumbled.

* * *

**Ezra was at Daniella's side before he realized that his feet had touched the ground. He reached for his wand, then thought better; if anyone was going to do any healing magic, it should probably be Johnston. He pulled his hand back around and settled for clasping both of his around hers and hoisting her into an upright position.**

**"Are you alright?" he asked, quietly. His jaw was a bit clenched, but it took him a few moments to figure out why - when he did figure it out, however, he let go of her hands and spun around to get a good look at Noah. He raised one long, accusatory finger.**

**"This is not working," he said pointedly, motioning to Josiah, who looked awkwardly off to the side at being dragged into the argument. Then, he motioned to Daniella. "How do you expect them to learn like this? They'd be better off on foot. They're not second year Quidditch applicants, Ledger. You can't just bark orders at them and expect it to bloody work."**

**Josiah, who was growing more and more uncomfortable, interjected.**

**"I didn't think I did that poorly," he murmured, a bit stung.**

**"You did," Ezra said flatly and without remorse. He rounded on Noah again, raising his eyebrows. "You know he did. Do you think you're doing him a favor by telling him otherwise?"**

**He rolled his shoulders, feeling his muscles knead along his back. He looked off to the side and clenched his jaw again, if only to prevent himself from saying more things he would likely regret.**

* * *

Daniella bit back a pained groan when Ezra pulled her up to her feet. Her arm really hurt. A huge bruise was spreading from her shoulder almost all the way down to her elbow, but she didn't think it was broken.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, embarrassed, as a dozen similar memories rushed in. She always made the same mistakes – and her brother had always laughed at her, even if he tried to help. "I'm f-" she repeated, but Ezra had already turned against Noah.

Noah, who had looked worried, now looked offended and angry. "Well, it's not like I have two brooms so I can be up there with them. Don't you think I'd make this easier, if I could?"

He had trained quite a few of his teammates over the years, it's not like he didn't know what he was doing. He knew that Jo and Daniella would struggle, that's why he'd tried to find something positive to say, but even that didn't seem to please Mr. Know-It-All-Greengrass.

"At least I tried to motivate them, instead of just pulling them down or brushing them off like they're useless little brats. You just stand there, so proud of yourself, but when have you ever come down of your pedestal to teach anything to anyone?! It's not easy. It's not supposed to be easy. If they don't take any risks, how will they become better?!"

* * *

**Ezra huffed out a sarcastic half-chuckle, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as Noah went for the same old rhetoric.**

**"Yeah, well, I managed to get a decent Stunning Spell out of you," he said dryly, shrugging theatrically. He narrowed his eyes, honing in on the other boy. "We don't need any more risks," he said lowly. "They-" he motioned to Josiah and Daniella again. "-need you to be clear with them. They need you to tell them when they botch something. That's how they'll become better, Ledger. You think you're doing them a favor by treating them like your equals, when all you're doing is hindering their progress."**

**Josiah, who was now looking at the ground with furrowed eyebrows, slowly got to his feet and drew his wand, meaning to tend to Daniella.**

**"It was only the first time out," he murmured, more to her than anyone else. He ran his wand over the bruise, which turned purple, then maroon, then brown, and then began to fade around the edges. Ezra studied the two of them in silence, then looked back up at Ledger, calculating.**

**He motioned for the broom.**

**"I want to try again," he said darkly.**

* * *

"I wish it had been the last," Daniella murmured back to Jo. She examined her arm. "Thanks, Jo."

Noah gave Ezra another sour glare. "How should I treat you, then?" He asked. Greengrass certainly wasn't implying he was equal to Noah at flying.

* * *

**Realizing that Noah wasn't going to oblige him just yet, Ezra pointed his wand at the broom and said, "Accio Nimbus!"**

**Once he had the broom in his hands again, he brushed it off - it had picked up a minor scrape from the earlier events - and smirked at Noah with a look that would make a mountain troll self-conscious.**

**"Like I'm your new Seeker, Captain," he said silkily. "And whipping me into shape is the one thing standing between you and the House Cup."**

**He mounted the broom and took off, pent-up aggression fueling his desire for altitude and speed. He did a quick lap around the top of the clearing before slowing a bit and, for the first time, attempting to pull out his wand.**

**It was not as easy as he thought it would be, that was for sure - Ledger hadn't been kidding when he said it would require practice on his part. Still, that thought made him even more determined. He tried his best to steer around the branches, climbing in altitude and still messing in his pockets.**

**He turned the corner again, trying to get used to the feeling of steering with one hand, but he was leaning to one side heavily. He got a branch to the face again, but more gently this time; he ducked, cursing. Then, without thinking, he whipped out his wand and turned the offending tree into snow-white ash.**

**He came to hover over Noah, looking sour. Experimentally, he raised both his arms slowly away from the broomstick, trying to balance with only his legs. This gave him a very restricted feeling in his chest, rather like he was going to die, and a slight bump made him draw his arms back in so quickly that he dropped his wand onto the other boy's head.**

**"Begging your pardon," Ezra called down.**

* * *

Noah huffed. He wasn't used to being challenged like that. He followed the Slytherin with his eyes for a minute, his shoulders straightening with resolve. Very well, then.

He glanced at Jo and Daniella, standing to the side, Daniella frowning with a mix of disapproval and annoyance at their behavior. "You two may go inside if you want," he said abruptly.

Ezra's wand fell on him. His lips moved into a half-smirk, half-growl as he picked it up.

"The first thing my Seekers learn is to not be idiots. They're far too important to hurt the rest of the team by being reckless pricks." He locked eyes with Ezra's. "Do not take both hands off of _my broomstick_," he growled, giving his wand a casual wave in the broom's direction.

The broomstick gave a sudden jerk to the right.

He waited a moment, giving just enough time for Ezra to regain balance and threw the Slytherin's wand up, so the other boy could catch it.

* * *

**Josiah, who was watching the whole thing with tired amusement, turned to Daniella and smiled grimly.**

**"I'm not certain one forest can hold so much testosterone," he murmured with a lilt. When Noah 'dismissed' them, he rolled his eyes. He was smiling though. "Yes, Captain," he said dryly, brushing off the back of his shorts and offering Dan his hand.**

**"I'd much rather be eating anyhow," he said, grinning. "Wouldn't you, love?"**

**Ezra, meanwhile, was smirking with the kind of crazed defiance that said he hadn't been completely prepared for what he'd signed up for, but now that he was here, he wasn't going to give Noah the benefit of seeing his apprehension.**

**Their eyes met. The broom jerked. Ezra grit his teeth, gripping the handle so tightly he could have almost been giving it a hug.**

**"Git," he spat, but his lips were curved into a feral grin. He saw his wand fly into the air, and he reached for it instinctively, turning sharply and snapping the thin piece of ebony out of the air with one hand. He took a moment to adjust his grip on it before looking down.**

**"After all this is over," he called, somewhat nostalgically. "I'm going to get one of these for my own."**

* * *

Daniella hesitated, not sure if it was a good idea to leave Ezra and Noah alone.

Her head snapped up at Ezra's words. She pressed two fingers between her eyes. "Yes, please, let's go inside, before I throw him off of that broom myself," she muttered to Jo.

Noah, now fully focused on the figure above him, tried not to think about his broomstick's chances of surviving through the day and snorted at Ezra's comment. He flicked his wand, murmuring various hexes he'd learned – most of them with Potter – at Ezra, hitting him directly, or sending obstacles to get in the way. He gave a short compliment whenever Ezra succeeded in a move and made him repeat it over and over when he failed.

He stopped after a while, pointed his wand at one of the bottles and made it hover in midair barely a feet off the ground. Then he turned back to Ezra.

"What's the most important thing a seeker needs to keep in mind to succeed in catching the _snitch_?" He asked.

* * *

**Ezra did a quick roll to avoid the most recent hex. He was suspended, for a moment, upside-down; a few beads of sweat rolled off of his forehead and onto the grass below. Then he was upright again, wand held aloft.**

**His chest was heaving, but he couldn't say that he was unhappy about it. Indeed, if he was honest with himself, the opportunity to get a good workout was almost therapeutic somehow.**

**The fact that he could feel himself improving felt ever better.**

**"Search me, Ledger," he said dryly, circling around the bottle at full speed to avoid any sudden hexes he might encounter. "I didn't make the team. Dawlish said I wasn't focused enough."**

**He doubled back, crossing behind Noah and conjuring tadpoles to pelt at the back of his head.**

* * *

"Did you try out to be a Seeker?" Noah asked, shifting to the side, trying to get rid of the tadpoles, but never letting Ezra out of his sight. "I guess it makes sense. You could never be a Chaser. You're not exactly a team player," he said thoughtfully.

He made the broom jerk again, knowing he wouldn't catch the Slytherin boy off guard this time.

"You couldn't be a Beater either, you're not strong enough." He continued. His words might've sound harsh, but it was the truth. And Ezra had wanted the truth. "Seekers, on the other hand, don't have to be team players. To a Seeker, all that matters is his goal. No matter what else is going on around you, no matter how many detours you have to take, the only thing in your mind, the only thing you can see in front of you, is that _Snitch_."

Noah smiled, then turned his wand in the direction of the house. "Accio, Quidditch box," he murmured.

Moments later, he caught the wooden box that came flying at him. All the hexing was taking its toll on him; he wasn't used to do thix much spell work at once, but he wasn't ready to stop with the arrogant Slytherin yet.

"New exercise, Greengrass. Since we'd die of old age before you spotted a _Snitch_ in this forest, we'll use that bottle for now."

Daniella might split his head in two if Noah used real Bludgers, so he opened the box which contained a few smaller, rubber covered black balls instead. He had used those to train the rookies without sending them to the hospital wing all the time. He unlatched his bat as well.

The familiar weight on his hand felt good and gave him a boost of confidence. He spread his legs a little, positioning himself.

"Your job is to catch that bottle," he told Green grass. "If it breaks, you fail. If it hits the ground before you catch it, you fail. If you fall off of the broom, you obviously fail. When you catch the bottle ten out of ten times, you succeed." He paused for a brief second. "If you break my broomstick, I'll break you. Understood?"

He pointed his wand at the box; the balls rose in the air and hovered at the level of his chest. Professor McGonagall had hexed them years ago, so that when he hit them, they always boomeranged back to him. That way he could just keep throwing them at Ezra. Too bad he didn't know how to hex the bottle to behave like a _Snitch_.

Maybe later he could ask Jo about that. He pointed his wand at the bottle; it started rising towards the sky, until it was at least 80 feet high, a good 40 feet behind Ezra, its reflection catching the eye.

"Go!" He shouted as he gave his wand another flick.

The bottle started its descent. He held the bat with both hands and started throwing the balls at Ezra, cutting off his movements.

All the spell work had taken its toll on him, so he was glad for the chance to do something purely physical for a bit.

* * *

**Ezra snorted at the verbal pinch, letting his trademark smirk cover his face. The broom jerked under him, but he had seen it coming; he guided the broom easily back into place, still circling idly, waiting for the other boy's next move.**

**"My father was a Seeker," he offered, neither emotionally nor affectionately. "He cut 100 galleons off my allowance when he found out I didn't make the team. I suppose you've described us both rather well."**

**As much as he hated to admit it, neither he nor his father was a team player. For all their differences...**

**He swung one foot nonchalantly as a large wooden Quidditch supply box came hurtling through the air towards Ledger, who caught it ably. The other boy procured several small black balls and a Beater's bat; Ezra arched an eyebrow.**

**The terms were deceptively simple. Ezra wavered for a moment before furrowing his brow.**

**"Yeah. Got it."**

**The bottle rocketed into the sky, so high that Ezra could barely see it properly, and then Noah told him to go.**

**He went.**

**The problem, he realized, was not getting to the bottle; it was getting to the bottle without gouging his eyes out on a twig or getting pummeled by croquet balls.**

**"Shit," he murmured, hearing the dull clink of the bottle as it hit the first branches of the trees and began its slow, nerve-shattering descent. He wove in between branches, feeling as though everything in front of him was hyper-focused; he could see the pattern on the tree leaves, but not the bottle. He could only hear it and go toward the noise.**

**Until he saw the glint of glass catch the sunlight.**

**He reached up for it, stretching his arm far above his head; the bottle, however, had other ideas. It fell to the other side, taking a different path. Ezra growled, frustrated for a split second.**

**And then he was upside down. There was a dull ache in the back of his head where he'd been hit by one of those damn balls; he blinked a few times, holding on to the broom with nothing but his legs. It was the perfect position from which to watch the bottle fall further down the tree.**

**He shifted his weight and pulled down with his leg; the broom obliged, albeit slowly. He dangled there, stretching as far as he could stretch. The bottle was inches from his fingertips... if only he could get down a little further...**

**He took another ball to the upper back, and he lost sight of the bottle temporarily. It landed on the mossy ground with a dull thump.**

**Ezra landed on top of it, awkwardly and painfully and with much less grace. The broom hovered valiantly two feet above the ground.**

**He meant to curse, but he could only lay back, frustrated and exhausted.**

**"Bugger," he said after a few moments, breathlessly.**

* * *

The sun had set behind the canopy when the last of the black balls hovered back to Noah for what seemed like the millionth time. They hovered in midair again, lined up, waiting obediently.

Hours had passed without them noticing. Well, Noah's shoulder had noticed for sure. If it had been a bit sore from his own encounter with a tree branch earlier, it was definitely nagging him now. He rubbed it absentmindedly as he walked up to Ezra, who'd fallen off of the broom again.

He was actually quite impressed. His broomstick was still in one piece – and so was Greengrass, sort of – and the other boy had caught the bottle a few times.

He wiped the sweat of his forehead with his arm and swung the bat over his shoulder, looking down at the Slytherin stretched on dirt.

"Should I point out how poorly you've done so far?" He asked, raising a mocking eyebrow, but smirking at the same time. "We're done for today. You need food and a shower," he instructed.

* * *

**Ezra lay on the ground, panting; it seemed to get softer every time he fell, somehow. As it was, he barely had the strength to open one eye and give Ledger an amused - if tired - look.**

**"I need a stretcher," he corrected, pulling himself into a sitting position. Crumbled leaf pieces fell from him, but he paid them no attention. He examined his fingernails - they were dirty - and pursed his lips. "Or a generously-sized above ground swimming pool in which to collect my sweat."**

**He braced himself on the other boy's arm and pulled himself up. Noah hadn't offered; Ezra didn't care. Together, they walked in contented silence back into the cottage, which was filled with the smell of food. He inhaled deeply.**

**"Bloody hell, I'm starved," he mumbled, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt in a desperate attempt to get it off of his sticky torso. Josiah, who was hunched over the stove, looked back, examined the sweaty, dirty pair of boys in the front room, and shook his head.**

**"You're not allowed into the kitchen in that state," he said mercilessly. Ezra used his rumpled shirt to wipe at his brow.**

**"Ugh," was all he said before he trudged off to the small washroom.**

* * *

Daniella had been preparing roast chicken with peas, carrots and gravy for dinner. Her eyes widened at the sight of her boyfriend. She'd never seen him so rumpled and dirty. "Have you two been tussling?" She asked as Ezra walked to the washroom.

Noah inhaled deeply, the smell of the food making his stomach growl loudly. And he still had to wait until Ezra was done to wash up. He gave Jo a pleading look.

"May I just taste a little bit?" He asked, looking from him to Daniella. Her expression was enough of an answer. "Maybe not," he murmured, turning away from the food to avoid temptation and sitting on a chair to clean his broomstick, which had taken quite a beat today.

* * *

**After his hair and body had been washed, and his nails thoroughly scrubbed, Ezra emerged from the small washroom in nothing but a pair of black plaid pajama trousers that Josiah had picked up for him at a Muggle thrift shop somewhere. They were a bit too short, and so his ankles peeked out from under them, but they fit well around the waist and he supposed that was really what mattered.**

**He lowered himself into one of the chairs around the table and looked up at Daniella.**

**"If there's still money left after our wedding, may I buy a broomstick?" he inquired in a businesslike tone, conjuring a stream of cold water into the glass nearest him.**

* * *

Noah didn't waste time disappearing into the washroom to get ready for dinner.

Daniella looked at her shirtless, handsome and excited fiancé, and gave a resigned sigh. "Maybe… just because it's difficult to say no when you're… like that."

She brought the food to the table and sat between Ezra and Jo. "As long as I don't have to look at you all the way up there."

Noah came back out a few minutes later, equally shirtless and rubbing a towel energically over his not-so-short-anymore blond hair. He dropped the towel on the back of his chair and sat down. "Now can I eat?"

* * *

**Ezra gave a small smirk at her words, draining a few not-insignificant sips of water before speaking again.**

**"Is that so? Well, if only I'd known. Still, better to find out late than never," he quipped. Josiah took a seat at the opposite end of the table, leaving a place for Dan on one side and Noah on the other. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.**

**"Bless," he murmured, allowing his eyes to trail over Noah's bare abdomen as he re-entered the room. As soon as the food was in front of them, everyone talked a little less. Clinking and chewing filled the small dining area.**

**"Oh, by the way," Jo murmured, covering his full mouth with one hand. "This was the last of the chicken. There's a bit of lamb left, but if you lot want meat the day after tomorrow, we're going to need groceries."**

**Ezra, who had already polished off half of a plate of food, looked up. He'd forgotten that living in a house on his own required buying food.**

**"Mm," he murmured, cautiously.**

* * *

The mood at the table shifted when Jo mentioned groceries. Daniella chewed slowly, lost in thought. It wasn't really fair to make Jo and Noah always be the ones to risk their necks going out to buy food. But if anyone recognized Ezra…

"I can make shepherd's pie, it'll last an extra meal, but Jo is right," she started, looking at Ezra. "It should be the two of us going, this time… We don't need to get anywhere near London, so it won't be as dangerous."

Noah looked up from his plate for the first time. "Maybe we should try fishing... I mean, the sea isn't that far." He gave it a little thought. "But we definitely need meat," he said solemnly. "I can go with Greengrass, if you want," he offered.

"No, it wouldn't be fair," Daniella shook her head. "Plus, we don't need you to get on each other's nerves again while you're out," she pointed out.

* * *

**Ezra met Daniella's eyes, and a silent sort of agreement passed between them. He swallowed, nodding.**

**"I'm sure we can figure out some way," he murmured, a bit solemnly. He scooped up the remaining bit of gravy on his plate with a spoon, thinking of any way he could to make those words a reality. He knew that Daniella hated the thought of disguising themselves, but at the moment...**

**"I might be able to rig something up," Josiah said brightly. "For fish, that is. I reckon it can't be all that much different than freshwater fishing. All I need is a wee bit of rope."**

**Ezra studied the other boy for a moment, wondering how on earth anyone managed to catch enough fish to eat with a 'wee bit of rope.' His thought was interrupted, though, by Noah offering to accompany him for groceries.**

**"No," said he and Daniella at the same time. He let her speak first, then nodded in agreement. "She's right," he said dryly, sipping more water. "If something happens, you're the last person I'd want to be stuck with."**

**He offered the Gryffindor a small, amused smirk.**

* * *

Daniella gave Jo a short nod, focusing on the task as to not think about the possible consequences. "We'll add that to the list. It should save us some money, it's one less thing to buy in the future."

Noah made a 'hnnf' sound in the back of his throat. "Agreed, Greengrass. A scrawny little guy like you wouldn't even make a good shield," he replied just as dryly.

"So," Daniella interrupted before those two started another pissing contest, "I'll start making the list, Jo and Ezra can figure out a way for us to get back here alive and you," she pointed her finger at Noah. "It's your turn to do the dishes." She looked over at Ezra. "When should we go?"

* * *

**Ezra opened his mouth to reply, but Daniella cut him off; he gave her a slightly meek look and considered the task ahead of them. He had to admit, it was rather daunting. He studied her as she assigned them all a job. He looked at Josiah; Josiah looked back.**

**"Er... whenever?" Ezra said noncommittally. He wasn't sure if risking his life so that they could have roast chicken would be any easier if he waited to do it. However, he decided that this probably wasn't the best thing to say to a room full of people who were trying to protect him in one way or the other.**

**With that, Jo summoned a small notebook and self-inking quill, preparing to scribble.**

**"I can change your hair color, if you like," he offered kindly. Ezra nodded, feeling a bit dazed. He wondered how much of a difference that would actually make.**


	26. Polyjuice

_**Chapter 26 - Polyjuice**_

Daniella woke up early. She wasn't looking forward to the task at hand, but the wait wasn't any better. She slipped into a knee-length, well-worn linen skirt and a blouse, took the beautifully carved hand mirror she'd gotten for her birthday years ago and met Jo in the kitchen.

"Good morning," she greeted without enthusiasm. "Can you handle all this hair?"

* * *

**"Morning," Josiah said brightly before catching the look on her face, which sobered him up. He knew it was dangerous for them to go out, but he and Noah couldn't really be expected to go out and risk themselves every time. It really was only fair...**

**But still, he wasn't sure if it was right.**

**He pulled out his wand anyway, offering her a brave grin and ran his fingers through her long, soft locks experimentally. "What color, love?"**

* * *

Daniella ran a hand through her hair thoughtfully. "I was thinking red… it's uncommon enough keep the attentions off of Ezra and definitely very different from my usual color, right?" She said, a bit tentatively.

* * *

**Josiah smiled warmly, remembering the beautiful deep red color the Head Girl's hair had been in his sixth year. He'd always fancied that color. He began running the tip of his wand through Daniella's hair, trying to reproduce it.**

**He was silent for a few moments, pensive.**

**"Don't stay out too long," he murmured finally, worried. "Alright?"**

* * *

Daniella looked at her reflection in the mirror and wrinkled her nose, amused. "I look so weird…" She had never changed her hair color before.

"Thanks, Jo," she said softly when he was done. "We'll go as soon as you finish up with Ezra and we won't stay longer than necessary. We shouldn't have any problems, though," she said, trying to tranquilize them both. "What are the odds of anyone recognizing us so far from home?"

* * *

**"Aye, but I think it suits you," Jo said, grinning. No sooner had she mentioned Ezra than he appeared at the door; he was wearing a black shirt and flared denim trousers that fit much better than his pajamas. Jo nodded in approval.**

**"You look like a proper Muggle, at least," he said, giving the other boy several glances up and down. Ezra shifted uncomfortably; he wasn't sure how he felt about wearing denim in public. Josiah reached up to ruffle through his hair a bit, and Ezra recoiled, if only slightly.**

**"Now, really," the Ravenclaw chided. "I don't suppose you've given the color any thought?"**

**Ezra stared at the other boy for a moment, then looked to the side. He shook his head.**

**"Well, how about I make you both ginger?" Jo suggested, pondering this. "You can pretend you're related…"**

**Ezra wrinkled his nose.**

**"Isn't it a bit conspicuous? Being ginger?" he asked finally, feeling as though choosing such a bright color was a bit counterproductive.**

* * *

Daniella nodded at Jo's words. "That could work…" she said slowly, without looking at the two boys. "Try it, Jo. With a bit of luck, we'll pass as tourists and no one will pay us any attention… even if I mess up with the paper money."

* * *

**Ezra pursed his lips as Daniella signed off on his impending gingerness; he bent down just enough for Jo to grab a fistful of his hair and run his wand over it. A lock of ginger hair fell down in front of his eyes, and he blew it out of the way with a quick puff of air.**

**A few moments later, Josiah was stepping back to study his handiwork.**

**"Well, that's… interesting," he said lightly. Ezra sighed; he didn't have the energy to roll his eyes properly. "I'll do your eyebrows, too. That ought to help, aye?"**

**Josiah looked back to Daniella sheepishly before turning back to Ezra and waving his wand once more.**

**"There," he said, with some finality. "Now you just have to stop scowling like a gargoyle, and you'll be fine."**

* * *

Daniella approached Ezra and gave him a quick, comforting kiss. "You look good… I just hope my fiancé doesn't get jealous," she murmured, playfully.

* * *

**Daniella's kiss temporarily lightened his mood; it didn't, however, improve the growing tightness in his chest.**

**"I look ginger," he said dryly, kissing the top of her forehead at her hairline. He joined his hand with hers. He looked pointedly at the other two before departing. "Don't blow up the house while we're out."**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

At the store, Daniella kept looking over her shoulder with growing uneasiness. She couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched.

She was probably just being paranoid, but they stayed together, trying to figure out where everything on the list was. At last, they picked up the rope Jo had asked and went for the register.

"That'll be £13.90, please," the lady behind the register said after helping them bag everything, looking at them with poorly hidden curiosity.

Daniella bit her lower lip, looking at the money with intense focus. "That's 10 pounds," she murmured, taking one note out, then shuffled around the wallet until she found a note with a big 5. "Here," she said a bit anxiously, giving the lady the two notes.

She accepted the change with bothering to check it and turned to Ezra. "Sorry, but I really need to use the bathroom…"

* * *

**Ezra perused the shelves with a look of incredible concentration. So this was how Muggles got their food… every single Muggle went to one of these grocery stores, as it were, and bought a bunch of things to cook. He supposed that poorer magical people, as they were now, also did things this way; since he'd always had house elves to do it all for him, the process was slightly overwhelming.**

**He looked at a looming red display of glass bottles labelled Coca-Cola; he might have asked Daniella what they were, if they weren't in such an awful hurry. He watched her pick the Muggle paper money out of her wallet and come to an acceptable amount. He felt an unwarranted sense of admiration for her.**

**"Hm? Oh, yes," he replied, feeling a bit edgy at being left alone in the store. What would he do? Should he stand by the counter? The door? The restroom? "Of course."**

**He gathered up the bag of groceries and followed her, slowly and rather awkwardly, to the back end of the store. He stood by a silver contraption that was built into the wall; it had a funny looking spout on one side and a very large button on the front that said 'push.'**

**Curiosity gripped him for a moment, so hard that he couldn't resist.**

**He pushed.**

**A stream of water flew out of the spout in an arc and disappeared down a drain on the other side of the appliance.**

**He quickly jerked his hand away, feeling perplexed.**

* * *

Daniella left the tiny cubicle and leaned against the sink to wash her hands. It had gone fairly well, all things considered. Soon she could relax and-

"Hello, Dany."

Daniella froze, chilled by that voice. Slowly, she looked up at the mirror, her eyes widening at Logan's reflection. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She had to warn Ezra, but she didn't want to give away his location.

"Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you with a different hair color?" He said with a smile that showed a thin line of white teeth. He was standing right behind her, so close she couldn't understand how she'd missed him before.

She started to turn around, reaching for her wand in the process but Logan disarmed her. He locked the bathroom door and murmured "_Muffliato!_"

"Why are you here?" She asked, trying to keep him talking, trying to have an idea, any idea that could get them out of that situation. She looked at the floor on his left, where her wand had fallen. _Maybe he didn't see Ezra_, she thought desperately. If he had, he would've just grabbed him, wouldn't he have?

"Sabrina, darling, will you please join us? We don't have much time," Logan said quietly, his wand still pointed at Daniella.

* * *

**Sabrina emerged wordlessly from the end stall, brushing her long, black hair behind her ear. She eyed Daniella with the reserved distaste that she managed for most human beings; indeed, one might say that it was her default expression. She was also wearing Muggle clothes - she had somehow managed to find a pair of satiny, hot pink running shorts and had paired them with a bright yellow top with a repeating pattern of white daisies. Her pale legs were made hyper-obvious by the contrasting bright colors.**

**She turned her large, heavily lidded green eyes to Logan, looking as expectant as she knew how. She only had to hold out long enough to find Ezra, and then… then, she could rescue him, and everything would be like it used to be.**

**She procured a metal sports water bottle from her bag and popped the lid open.**

**"I won't need much," she said dully, eyeing the head full of red hair.**

* * *

Daniella clenched her teeth, anger bubbling up inside her for no other reason than Sabrina's presence. Only for existing, the girl had that effect on her.

"You won't need anything at all from me," she spat, taking a couple of steps away from them, wondering what kind of potion she had in there.

"Dany, I'll make this very simple for you," Logan said with strained patience. "If you do what I tell you for once in your life, you might just come out of this alive. If not…" He shook his head. "Don't force me to do this the hard way. Just let Sabrina take one of your precious hairs and get into the stall to get changed."

Daniella closed her hands into fists, glancing at her wand once more. Polyjuice. That bottle had Polyjuice potion. Of course. She swallowed hard, looking at Sabrina. "You'll never fool him. He'll know," she said, wanting to believe her own words.

She looked at the stalls, then looked at Logan. She started walking as if she was going into one of them, but dropped to catch her wand instead.

The next moment, she was shifting back to a standing position, hands empty, a familiar peaceful sensation filling her, all the worry and fear eating at her fading away like a very distant memory.

"Get into the stall and undress," the voice said quietly. The order echoed in her empty mind, and her legs started moving.

Logan's expression had darkened as he picked up Daniella's wand from the floor. He looked at Sabrina and gestured to the stall. "Let me know if she gives you trouble."

* * *

**Sabrina showed no sign of emotion as Daniella lashed out at her. The words, for the most part, rolled right off of her, leaving no trace. She was doing this for Ezra's sake. Whatever the other girl said made no difference now.**

**She'd ruined his life. Sabrina was going to make her pay.**

**She saw Daniella's eyes go distant and cloudy, and she knew immediately that Logan had put his sister under the Imperius Curse. _Good_, she thought idly. At least the man had resolve. She didn't find him particularly tasteful in a lot of ways, largely because she compared every man to Ezra.**

**But resolve… resolve she could respect.**

**She followed Daniella wordlessly into the stall and closed the door behind them. She met the other girl's eyes coldly before pulling her own shirt over her head, exposing a small, sheer-white bra. For a moment, the stall was all elbows; it might have been awkward, if Sabrina was used to feeling awkwardness. Right now, she was all focus. She took Daniella's shirt and began unceremoniously pulling it over her head.**

**It was then that the glint of emerald caught her eye, even in the dingy light of the bathroom. Her eyes narrowed immediately, and she grabbed the other girl's wrist.**

**"Why," she whispered, looking down at the ring and then back at the other girl in expectation. No answer came, however; no, of course not. She splayed Daniella's fingers over her palm and grabbed at the ring. "Give it to me," she demanded.**

* * *

Daniella dutifully removed her clothes, her thoughts vague and out of reach except for a nagging… something, in the back of her mind.

A different voice filled her mind then. An annoying voice. The girl grabbed her wrist, her fingers, tried to take off the ring.

Ezra's ring; _Ezra's promise._ Her hand closed, her fingers pressing against her palm so tightly it dissipated some of the fog in her mind. "No…" she whispered, starting to pant.

* * *

**Daniella resisted, which made Sabrina even angrier; her dark eyebrows furrowed in an uncharacteristic display of outward emotion. She dug her fingernails into the other girl's wrist and yanked the ring off. It was heavy and warm in her hand; she closed her palm over it.**

**The Greengrass family crest. She inspected the ring, feeling a pang somewhere under years of non-feeling. After he'd left home, it had probably been all that he'd had left that was befitting of him… she could only imagine what he'd been subjected to since then.**

**And she'd taken even that from him.**

**"Know your place," she said quietly, pulling on the remainder of Daniella's clothes in the uncomfortably small space, including the ring. Then, without warning, she reached up and yanked a hair out of the other girl's head. She unlatched the door; it swung shut behind her.**

**Gripping a long, red hair in one hand, Sabrina fumbled with the water bottle, pouring a bit of the potion into the cap and letting the hair curl into it. The small amount of potion began to fizz, morphing; it bubbled a few more times and then turned a dark, stormy silver-grey.**

**She downed the entire cap full. Her eyes burned from the spice, which was strong like cinnamon with a hint of something else that she couldn't place.**

**No matter. She'd done her job.**

**She screwed the lid back onto the water bottle, put her bag and the bottle into Daniella's bag, and threw it over her shoulder casually. Without so much as a second glance toward Logan, she pulled open the bathroom door and found Ezra, staring at something attached to the wall with starry eyes.**

**It didn't matter what. Nothing else mattered, other than Ezra, and the fact that she was with him now.**

**The way he looked up at her and smiled a small, child-like smile made her pulse quicken. The smile quickly disappeared, however, and was replaced with a serious demeanor.**

**"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, adjusting the weight of the grocery bag.**

* * *

Not wanting to risk talking, Sabrina gave one small, curt nod.

Sabrina kept silent, letting ginger Ezra lead her to wherever they were going. She slipped her arm around his when they came to a stop in an empty alley. A split second later, she eased the hold on him, remembering she was supposed to be someone else.

He Apparated them out.

She looked around at the place she saw in front of her a second later with an appalled expression. It took effort to resume a distant and unreadable expression.

Was this really the place Ezra, the only heir to the house of Greengrass was living in? She stood there, not wanting to go inside that ridiculous, sad hovel.

* * *

**Ezra's hand hovered over the knob on the front door of the cottage. It turned, however, before he reached it; Josiah poked his head out, looked both of them over, and huffed out a sigh of relief. He smiled warmly and started to open the door fully before his eyes widened, as though he was just remembering something.**

**"What… er…" he trailed off, trying to think of a decent question. "What did we have for dinner last night?"**

**Ezra rolled his eyes shut impatiently.**

**"Roast chicken and gravy with a heaping side of if I remain a ginger for much longer, I'm going to shrivel and die."**

**Jo swallowed a laugh by pursing his lips into a tight, sheepish grin. He swung the door open to let them in. Ezra, who hadn't let go of his companion's hand, led her under the doorframe and into the front room.**

**Josiah took his wand out of his pocket and, with two flicks, changed Ezra's hair back to normal.**

**"Better?" he asked brightly, folding his arms.**

* * *

Sabrina let Ezra drag her into the building. She kept her eyes on him, more determined to get him out of that place with each passing second. Not only had that girl taken everything from him, she'd also made him live with Mudbloods?

Ezra's hair returned to its normal color. She looked around, holding Hawke's wandloosely at her side. Logan had said Ezra and Daniella were living with two other boys. Only one of them was there.

* * *

**Josiah's eyes eventually reached Daniella, and he smiled again. She seemed a bit off, but he supposed that was to be expected; it had probably been a stressful trip, and they were all tired, anyway.**

**"Here, love," he murmured, pushing her into a nearby chair. "It does suit you, but your natural color suits you better, I reckon. Don't you think, Ezra?" he asked with a lilt and a grin. Ezra managed a small lip twitch of approval; it was all he could do under the circumstances.**

**At least they weren't dead, he thought. And they'd gotten food, too. He wasn't sure now why he had expected everything to go horribly wrong.**

**His attention was caught by Josiah, who was shaking his wand vigorously and looking perplexed.**

**Daniella's hair was still red.**

**"Well that's odd," the Ravenclaw muttered, his cheeks filling with heat almost immediately. "I've done this Charm thousands of- hey!" His voice peaked in surprise as Ezra drew his wand so quickly that it was nothing but a thin, black blur, until it pointed between Sabrina's eyes.**

* * *

Sabrina's arm flinched at the Mudblood's touch, her teeth clenching when he pushed her down on the chair. He pointed his wand at her hair, trying to change it.

She raised Hawke's wand, but before she could get rid of the Mudblood next to her, Ezra pointed his wand at her.

He was quite fast, but she was faster. She was always faster. A split second later, Ezra's black wand came flying into her hand. She turned to the Mudblood and stunned him before he could understand what hit him.

The boy fell with a loud thud, but Sabrina was looking at Ezra again. He was safe now.

* * *

**The first moment in which Ezra realized he had been disarmed was by far the most terrifying. His eyes widened instinctively, and he looked at Daniella - no, not Daniella, never Daniella - and back to his empty hand. He balled his fists instinctively in an attempt to protect himself.**

**Josiah fell heavily to the floor; the impact shook the entire house.**

**"Where is she," he demanded, panic rising in his voice against his will. "What have you done with her? If you've hurt her… if you've done anything to her, if you've touched so much as a hair on her head, I'll kill you!"**

* * *

Sabrina looked at Ezra with something that was close to, but not quite, incredulity. She'd never seen Ezra so… unsettled.

Given the circumstances, she allowed herself a small sigh as she tossed his wand onto a pathetic little wooden table. His parents could buy him another one when he started feeling more like his old self again.

"Obviously, I have touched her hair, or I wouldn't look like… this," she said glancing down at herself with a hint of disgust. What could he possibly have seen in such a bland little girl? But no matter. They'd wasted far too much time in that miserable place.

"She has clouded your judgment, Ezra. But we will help you see reason again." Sabrina said, reaching out a hand towards him. "Come."

* * *

**It took Ezra a moment to place the voice he was hearing, but only a moment. He only knew one person who could string syllables together with that little enthusiasm. His cheeks flushed; anger flooded him like wildfire.**

**"Give me my wand, Sabrina," he said in a deceptively level tone. "And tell me what you've done with Daniella. Who is _we_?"**

**It made sense; Sabrina didn't have the drive required to initiate such a plan on her own. The amount of preparation this would have required… his mind began racing, trying to pick out any and every detail of the past few hours.**

**He took a step back from her, inching away from her hand and toward the small table where his wand was lying, abandoned. If he could get to his wand…**

* * *

"Your family," Sabrina said evenly, answering only his last question. She took a step closer, raising her wand further as she noticed his movement towards the table. "Me." She took another step closer. "I forgive you, Ezra."

"Jo?!" The voice reached them from outside, muffled by the walls, but it didn't distract Sabrina. It was probably the half-blood. She wasn't afraid of him, but she didn't want to waste any more time either. There was a movement outside the window. "Greengrass?"

Eliminating the distance between them, she grabbed Ezra's hand and Disapparated them out.

* * *

**Ezra's blood ran cold at the thought of being taken back to his family. No, he wouldn't survive it… they'd brainwash him or kill him. He'd never see Daniella again, that was for certain. He might not see the light of day, depending on how generous they were feeling.**

**His parents were not the generous type, in general.**

**"Get out of here, Ledger!" Ezra yelled suddenly, stirred by a familiar voice. He braced himself, preparing to run for the door. "Take Johnston and get o-"**

**His voice was cut off by an awful, nauseating feeling; they were Apparating. He'd forgotten how fast Sabrina was when she put her mind to it.**

**He gasped involuntarily upon their arrival, lowering his head somewhere around his knees and taking a few deep, desperate breaths. Fast Sabrina might be, and skilled in offensive magic, but Transfiguration…**

**Ezra winced as he finally noticed the raw, angry burning along his left hand. His little fingernail was gone, and so was a good portion of his top layer of skin. Blood began beading along the tear.**

**But there was no time for that.**

**"Where is she?" he demanded again, straightening up and ripping his other hand away from Sabrina's grasp. He looked around wildly for any clue of their whereabouts; it was only vaguely familiar to him, and it took him a few moments to place the neutral wallpaper and impossibly long hallways with arched ceilings and doors upon doors.**

**She could be in any of them. His parents could be in any of them…**

* * *

Sabrina didn't answer for a couple of minutes, as her body was returning to normal. Daniella's blouse was now shorter, leaving her bellybutton and a couple inches of skin exposed.

She noticed Ezra's hand. "Oh… Sorry."

She looked around, not knowing where Logan was at the moment. She'd have to wait until he decided to show up. Then, she could send a message to Mr. Greengrass, to let him know she had recovered his son.

"She's close," she said a bit irritably. When would he stop talking about her? "But she won't get in the way anymore."

A few moments later, a door opened and closed quietly, somewhere down the hall, and the sound of steps reached them.

"There he is, at last," Logan said, coming to stand in front of Ezra, one hand in his pocket, the other one falling at his side, holding his wand casually.

* * *

**Ezra blatantly ignored her apology, bending his fingers experimentally. The skin protested, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. More importantly, Daniella was close. That meant all he had to do was find her and get out of here, but how to get past the Ministry Security division was another matter entirely, and then he would have to find Ledger and Johnston, and…**

**His stream of thoughts was interrupted by the opening and closing of the door. But it was the voice… that voice…**

**Ezra didn't even stop to think. He charged, taking a flying leap onto Logan, taking him into a hard, tumbling roll. His sense of direction was off balance, but all that mattered to him right now was the fact that his fist was hitting Logan's face, or at least places close enough to his face to be effective.**

* * *

Logan hadn't predicted such a violent, immediate reaction from the younger boy. Before he could do anything, they were on the ground and he'd lost his wand.

Greengrass was enraged, but he wasn't nearly as bulky or as strong as the other boy had been at the pier. A long confusing moment passed, but eventually Logan managed to get a hold of Ezra's shirt, pushing him away. He punched him and pushed the boy off of him violently.

He rolled to his knees, tasting blood in his mouth. He spat furiously, found his wand and turned to face Ezra again. "_Locomotor Mortis_," he murmured.

* * *

**Ezra got several satisfactory punches in before Logan managed to land a punch of his own on his sharp, angular jaw. He was stunned more by the force than the pain, and the moment of hesitation was enough for Logan to throw him off and regain the upper hand.**

**Ezra, who had been in the midst of stumbling to his feet, found his legs bound together. He fell pitifully forward, growling in rage and frustration and bracing himself for the retribution he knew was coming.**

**In the meantime, he tried to remember why he'd felt that not learning to physically fight had been a good idea.**

**"I knew I should have killed you," he rasped into the floor, using his hands to attempt to pull himself up.**

* * *

Logan touched his face. His nose hurt, but it wasn't broken. His lip was bleeding and that little bastard had chipped his tooth.

He looked down at Ezra. "But you didn't," he said, watching him struggle uselessly to get up, his wand still aimed at him. Oh, he was enjoying watching that smug little rich boy on his knees. "Because you're too weak," he said derisively. "You've always been too weak! You couldn't even keep your…" His head tilted to one side, as if he was amused, "fiancé… safe, could you?" He searched Ezra's eyes. "Yes, she told me all about the ring…"

"Luckily for you, someone still has interest in you…" His lips twisted into a vicious smirk. "But that doesn't mean I can't have some fun with you first."

* * *

**Ezra's eyes widened instinctively before narrowing again. He couldn't let Logan's words get to him. Anything he said could be a lie. He had no reason to tell the truth… and if not incentive, for what did Logan Hawke work for?**

**His shoes were sliding uselessly along the carpet; even with his hands free, he didn't have enough strength to pull himself up by his arms. His hand stung terribly. The fight had worn him out.**

**"Is that all she told you?" he whispered, smiling a feral smile. "Are you going to beat me, Logan? Beat me for loving your sister? Touching her? Being the one constant in her life that you could never be?"**

**He blew his bangs away from his eyes with a ragged puff of air.**

**"You're so disappointing," he murmured, looking at the other boy with half-lidded eyes. "You call me weak, but at least the things I cherish also cherish me."**

* * *

Logan's fingers closed around his wand so tightly the knuckles turned white. The smirk vanished. He forgot all about his orders, about his plans. All he could think of was how much he wanted to hurt that boy.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," he snarled. "_Crucio!_"

* * *

**Ezra's scream was strangled at first, frayed with the cracks in his voice that came from the pure shock of pain that only a properly cast Cruciatus Curse could inflict. He fell, hard, and attempted to knit himself together as tightly as possible in a fetal position. The scream was interrupted by a few dry, raspy intakes of breath that were closer to sobs than gasps.**

**Not even the break in the pain gave him relief; what he felt now was not defiance, or determination, but a sort of resolute fear.**

**He was going to die, he knew. It was only a matter of how long he could last before his mind or his body gave out, or, alternatively, they sent the Dementors after his soul.**

**Tears trickled out of one closed eye as he continued to pant, recovering. Inexplicably, a laugh tugged at the corners of his lips, slowly evolving into a rough, mirthless, pain-laced chuckle.**

**"Have I struck a nerve?" he managed to murmur breathlessly between the heaving of his chest. "Will you curse me until your wand arm tires, Logan, before you go crawling back to my parents for orders?"**

**The curse had addled his brain a bit, and he wasn't entirely sure what kind of reaction he was going for. All he knew was that Logan couldn't be the one to kill him, and eventually, he'd get tired of being taunted… eventually…**

* * *

Daniella had woken from the slumber of the Imperius Curse to find herself mostly naked, alone in the same tiny stall, at the grocery shop's bathroom. Logan was outside waiting for her to get dressed. She'd lost both her wand and Ezra, so she reluctantly followed her brother.

He'd brought her to the Ministry and refused to give her any explanation other than repeating over and over that she had to do what he told her or she'd be dead. She didn't really believe he could kill her, and she hadn't seen anyone else yet, so she tried to run away as soon as he let go of her for more than two seconds.

The poor attempt only resulted in her being knocked out and locked in some tiny empty office without any light, any windows and only one door that had been magically locked. When she returned to her senses, she was alone. After unsuccessfully trying to get the door to open, she heard voices outside. She pushed her ear against the door, trying to listen.

Logan was talking to someone, but whom? Could it be Ezra, or Jo, or…

The screaming sent a chill through her skin and she backed away from the door momentarily. It was Ezra. Logan had gotten him.

Desperate to get out of that room, she banged her fists against the door, shouting, "EZRA!" She banged until her hands hurt, pleading with Logan to stop.

Eventually the screaming stopped and an eerie silence filled her small room.

Outside, Logan had lowered his wand and looked to the side, towards the corridor where he'd left Daniella. He hadn't noticed it at first, distracted by his own rage and Ezra's screams, but Daniella had been banging on the door.

He closed his eyes for a short moment, deciding what to do, but Ezra's words made him look down at the sweaty, shaky boy.

"I do _not_ take my orders from your parents, as you know very well," he spat, grabbing Ezra by the collar and dragging him along the opposite corridor from Daniella. He stopped in front of the fourth door on the left. "Look at me, boy." Raw anger filled every nerve, every bit of his soul. "You will never see Daniella again," he muttered, entering the small division and throwing Ezra unceremoniously on the floor.

* * *

**Ezra was still reeling, and at first, he'd thought the banging was simply the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his ears. Logan looked back, too, though, and then he heard Daniella shouting his name.**

**"Daniella?" he rasped, unable to make his voice carry. The stress on his vocal cords had seen to that. He remembered again that Sabrina had told him… she was close. Of course. She was right there, and yet… "I'm going to get us out of here, Daniella!"**

**Louder, but he couldn't be certain that it was loud enough.**

**Logan's fist around his collar silenced him immediately; he grit his teeth, looking away so he didn't have to look at the other boy's infuriating face. He didn't allow himself to be dragged without a fight, but all the fight that was left in him didn't amount to much. They stopped in front of one of many doors on the long corridor.**

**At Logan's demand, Ezra looked up, eyes half-lidded. One of them was sporting a bruise. He noticed, though, with some satisfaction, that Logan also had a few purple splotches rising on his fair skin.**

**Oh, the hatred in those eyes. They far surpassed the hatred in his words.**

**He crumpled on the floor; the door shut behind him immediately, leaving the windowless room completely dark. He couldn't see the door, but he didn't suppose it would matter if he could. His legs were still locked. He flopped on his back and stared at what he assumed must be a ceiling, although he couldn't make it out.**

**He closed his eyes, which were still watering terribly, although from pain or emotion he couldn't tell anymore. He thought of how close he and Daniella were now, and yet so painfully far away.**

**He tried to find comfort in that thought.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Noah had been in the back of the small cottage examining his bike to see how much work it might need when he heard voices inside the cottage.

No answer came when he called for Jo, which made him suspicious. He burst into the cottage at Ezra's sudden warning, wand in hand. He caught a glimpse of the Slytherin boy and a red-haired girl that he assumed was Daniella as they Disapparated.

"Stupefy!" He shouted, but his spell hit the wall harmlessly. They were gone.

Confused, he looked around until his eyes lay on Jo, unconscious on the ground. He kneeled next to his boyfriend. "Jo?!" He pointed his wand at the boy's chest. "_Rennervate!_ Jo? What happened?"

* * *

**Josiah stirred immediately, his eyes opening wide. The first thing he saw was Noah, leaning over him at a very extreme angle with the arched wooden ceiling as a backdrop. He blinked a few times, then rushed to sit up so quickly he almost bumped Noah's forehead. He grabbed the other boy by the shoulders, looking pale.**

**"It's not Dan," he said immediately, as though he'd been holding off his reaction the entire time he'd been unconscious. "Where's…" he looked around, desperate. "It wasn't Dan. I don't know who it was, but it wasn't Dan. Her hair wouldn't change. And then Ezra pulled out his wand and…"**

**He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, to no avail. He groped around on the floor, looking for his wand, which he found, although it was tangled in the straps of Dan's bag, which had been left haphazardly beside the chair.**

**"We have to find Dan," he said desperately, his pulse racing horribly. He grabbed the purse and, with no regard for manners, began to rifle through it. "We can't stay here. We have to find Dan."**

* * *

Disoriented, Noah fell back on his heels, looking at Jo with a furrowed brow, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "It wasn't Dan?" He repeated slowly, mostly to himself. Josiah's frantic movements were making him nervous, so he held his boyfriend's shoulders.

"Jo!" He said firmly. "Calm down. We'll find them." He paused, giving them both time to breathe. "The girl who was just here, who took off with Ezra… she wasn't Dan? Was she the one who stunned you?"

* * *

**"Yes," Josiah breathed, relieved that Noah understood. "I mean, no, it wasn't Dan, but aye, stunned me proper, she did, I didn't even see it coming, that, no time to think…"**

**He closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. He tried to focus on the strong hands on his shoulders instead of the million and one thoughts that were currently racing through his mind. He rubbed his chest absentmindedly with one hand; it ached a bit. After a few moment's pause, he spoke again.**

**"But, if it wasn't Dan," he began, more slowly this time. "It means that someone else knows we're here, and it's only a matter of time before… before they tell someone who would rather us not be here, or anywhere, other than dead and buried, if you follow my meaning," he finished desperately. "So we've got to go. We can't stay. Help me up, I'll grab my bag… take this, too… and… oh?"**

**He let go of Dan's purse to fumble around on the table, picking up Ezra's wand and holding it grimly. He looked at Noah with furrowed eyebrows before stuffing it, too, into Dan's bag.**

* * *

Noah nodded as Jo talked. "Ezra said something, before he left," he said, trying to recall the words. "He told me to leave. He must've known who it was…" What Noah couldn't figure out was how they would know where they'd been taken to, and how he and Jo could help them.

One thing he knew. He would take Jo away from this house and keep him safe. At least that much he could do.

He looked at Ezra's wand and looked away. If he'd lost his wand, how could he possibly defend himself? Ezra's chances had just gotten much slimmer. He decided not to say that out loud, Jo was nervous enough as it was.

He was a man of action, so he got to his feet, his mind focusing on the practical needs. He stuffed his wand into his pocket and picked up the bag with the groceries, to put them away in the bag Jo had hexed to have more storage space. He ran to their bedroom, stuffed some random pieces of clothing in there as well, then looked around, trying to remember what else they might need.

"Where can we go that's safe?"

* * *

**Josiah followed Noah to the small bedroom they'd been sharing and began grabbing everything he considered absolutely essential to their survival. His medical kit was first - he stuffed that into the bag that Noah was holding - and his clothes were tossed in after it in a flurry. Dirty, clean, it made no difference to him right now.**

**Once he was apparently satisfied with his own things, he held up his hands as though he'd only just remembered something.**

**"I should get some of their things, too," he said worriedly, wondering how much more would fit in the bag. He took it gingerly away from Noah and carried it, trotting quickly, into the opposite bedroom. From there, he started tossing things in at an alarming rate: potion ingredients, mostly, but also Dan and Ezra's clothing and a few personal effects. The large silver cauldron, he lamented, would have to stay behind. If Ezra lived through this ordeal, he supposed he could always buy him another as an apology.**

**His work done, he found Noah again, clasping the bag tightly.**

**"I reckon it's as good as I can do," he said breathlessly, still looking incredibly worried. At Noah's question, he stopped, trying desperately to think of somewhere, anywhere, that they would be safe…**

**"Well," he said uncertainly, as though he wasn't sure if Noah would approve of his idea. "There is one place… one of my old housemates… um, you remember Alisa Sparks…"**

**He'd only been to her house once, and then, he realized with some panic, he wasn't even entirely sure her family still lived there. But she was the only close friend he'd ever had, other than Dan, and it was far better than putting either of their families in danger.**

**"I know it's very sudden, but maybe… I mean, just for the night…"**

**He extended his hand and grabbed onto Noah's, squeezing it for comfort.**

* * *

Noah looked at his broom a bit sadly, but he couldn't take it with him this time. He realized then, for the first time, how empty the house seemed without Ezra and Daniella. He really hoped it wasn't too late to rescue them.

He met Jo's eyes when he returned. "Ravenclaw's seeker, right?" He said, after a thoughtful pause. "Yeah, I remember… let's hope she's willing to help us out."

He took the bag from Jo's hand, and squeezed his other hand back, offering as much comfort as he could in that situation. "Take us there, and we'll figure out what to do from there."

* * *

**Josiah closed his eyes tightly, trying his best to concentrate properly so that neither of them ended up splinched. With a sharp crack, they rocketed through space, and when he opened his eyes again, they were standing on the lawn of a charming stone manor-house in Durham. Everything was beautiful and peaceful, if not for the fact that there was a very loud alarm going off at the moment.**

**"Oh, bother," Josiah murmured tiredly, looking around for the source of the noise. It was, more than likely, some sort of detection charm; even if he could lift it, however, he wasn't entirely sure that that would calm Alisa any.**

**He didn't have to worry about it for long, because the aforementioned came storming out of what Jo could only assume was the back door, wand held aloft.**

**"Alisa," Jo called out, trying his best to sound friendly and not at all frazzled. "It's me, Jo… and this is N-"**

**"I know who he is," Alisa said lowly, as she was now close enough to talk with them normally. She didn't, however, lower her wand. Josiah studied her carefully; her hair was as long and free as always, falling down her back in loose platinum-blonde waves. She was wearing all black and studying the pair of them with intense scrutiny. "Or, I know who he's supposed to be," she said after a moment. Jo smiled weakly.**

**"What sweet did I buy you on the Hogwarts Express in our first year?" she asked Jo, pointing her marbled rowan wand at the other boy's nose.**

**"A chocolate frog," Josiah answered, as politely as possible. She turned her wand to Noah, narrowing her ice-blue eyes.**

**"What was the score of the Championship match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in Fourth Year?" she quizzed Noah, unwavering.**

**"Really, Alisa, it's him, I've checked…"**

**"What was the score?" the shorter girl repeated, her voice steely.**

* * *

Noah had only about three seconds to admire the estate before they had a wand pointing at them and, behind it, a frightening looking girl. He hadn't feared her much on the Quidditch field, even though he'd respected her skills; right now, he was very aware that this was not a girl a man would mess with lightly, if he wanted to come out of it unscathed.

His expression hardened nonetheless and he squeezed Jo's hand more tightly when the girl focused on his boyfriend. Then, she turned the wand to him.

Noah narrowed his eyes, clenched his teeth and didn't quite meet her eyes when he answered, "The score was 210 to 190…" He huffed. "Ravenclaw won," he added grudgingly.

* * *

**"And don't you forget it," Alisa said smugly, lowering her wand. She studied the two of them again, as though they were stray puppies and she was fighting an inner battle about whether to take them home with her or not. Jo opened his mouth again, perhaps to explain, but the blonde held up her hand and gave her head a curt shake, which silenced him immediately.**

**"We'll talk inside," she told them simply, turning around and beginning her trek back to the house. Josiah looked at Noah a bit sheepishly and, after a moment's hesitation, followed her.**

**The house was cozy rather than elegant; the back door led into the den, which was covered in squashy, pillowed fabric-covered furniture. Assorted throw pillows and blankets lay around the room. There was a television in one corner, but it was off. The radio, however, was on; this spurred Josiah into action, and he spoke again.**

**"Have you heard anything?" he asked, without context. Alisa gave him a calm, surveying look. "About, ye know, anyone being captured, or…"**

**"This is about your Slytherin friend, isn't it?" she asked in a level tone that betrayed nothing of her thoughts. Jo was silent for a moment, looking uncomfortable.**

**"Well, yes, but…" he trailed off, and the radio blared on in the background. "It's just that… we've been hiding out. We didn't have anywhere else to go."**

**There was silence between them for a few moments, wherein Alisa sighed, rubbed her eyes wearily, and came around to stand in front of Josiah. She clasped his hands in her own.**

**"You're safe here," she assured them both. He gave her a small, watery smile, which she returned by giving her lip a small twitch. "However," she continued. "I'm not making any promises about your snake friend."**

* * *

Noah followed them into the house quietly. "I'm not sure we're safe anywhere," he murmured. "But either way, thanks for letting us in." He looked at Jo, then gave the girl a long accessing look.

He wasn't sure they would get much help from her, but he supposed if she could give Jo a roof for a few days, Noah didn't have to worry as much about his boyfriend's safety, and he'd have more time to figure out how on earth he'd get Ezra and Daniella back.

"Look," he started. "We just need a place to stay tonight… Then, tomorrow, I can go and…" he hesitated. Go where? Do what?

* * *

**Alisa returned Noah's look with a hint of amusement.**

**"And do what?" she asked finally, with piercing accuracy. "Ride in on your white steed with a magical blade and save the day? He hasn't discussed this with you, has he?" The last question was directed at Jo, who was torn between giving Noah a pointed look and sighing.**

**He settled for both.**

**"No, he hasn't," Jo said simply, his eyes darting back to meet Noah's again. There was a dangerous aura around him, as though he was keeping some sort of invisible tally. Alisa snorted.**

**"No, they never do," she mused, turning back to the den. "There're sandwiches and tea, if you're hungry," she offered, pointing through the den to a large archway that led to the kitchen. "I'll join you in a moment."**

* * *

Noah looked back at Jo a bit meekly; his ears heated up, but he didn't say anything until they were alone in the kitchen. "I didn't mean…" He avoided Jo's gaze. "I just thought, until we find out something about their whereabouts…" Sighing, he stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.

* * *

**"I know," Josiah said, grabbing a sandwich for his own and nibbling at it with interest. "But ye don't have to say it like you're going to do it all by yourself, for starters. And for another thing, don't you think we should make a plan first? Since he's wanted, it's likely they took him somewhere to be held, but there will be security at a place like that. We can't just storm in and hex everyone. And we can't guarantee they'll be holding Dan in the same place."**

**He polished off the sandwich, looking worried and morose. He looked back at Dan's bag, then gripped it tightly, trying to remain calm.**

**They were fine. They had to be fine… he couldn't give up hope so soon. It wouldn't be fair to them. Using this thought as his motivation, he began rifling through Dan's purse. It was normal stuff, mostly; he took a large water bottle out of the bag and placed it on the table, so that he had more room to look around. When he took it out, though, the side of it was sticky; he looked down at his hand, then back to the bottle.**

**"Did we have a water bottle like this?" he asked Noah, sniffing the liquid on his hand. It smelled sour; he wrinkled his nose. Once his curiosity had overcome him, he unscrewed the lid and peeked into the bottle.**

**"Bloody hell," he murmured, swishing the sludge-like potion around in the bottle. It moved sluggishly. "For certain we didn't have any of this. This is Polyjuice Potion!"**

**He gave Noah a puzzled look. Then, his face changed suddenly as the realization dawned on him.**

**"That's why her hair didn't change," he whispered, replacing the bottle on the table. "If someone used a piece of her charmed hair for the potion… yes, that has to be it. But still, it doesn't tell us who it was…" he pondered this, troubled.**

* * *

"It would definitely make things easier," Noah murmured, but obviously he didn't have the skill and Jo didn't have the cold blood necessary to hex all the wizards that might be holding their friends captive without a proper plan.

He took another sandwich, biting into it thoughtfully. Something wasn't right. It seemed like an awful lot of trouble to catch Ezra, when he'd been right there, out in the open. "If you ask me, her brother is behind this. Why else would they take Daniella? If it was anyone from the Ministry, they could've just arrested Greengrass, right? But you're right, they may not be in the same place…" He sighed and settled to watch Jo peruse Daniella's bag.

"Do you think her brother took the potion?" He made a face at the thought. "He wouldn't, right? That's just creepy…" He was silent for a while, listening to Jo's chain of thought. They fell silent for a long time.

"No, it doesn't tell us who, but it tells us where!" Noah said suddenly. His eyes widened and he straightened up on his seat. "They got her hair this morning, probably in the grocery store they went to, or close by! That's the only time she had red hair!" He looked at Jo excitedly. "She wouldn't have gone without a fight, right?! Maybe someone saw something, maybe… maybe… we should go there and ask around!"

* * *

**"That's true," Jo murmured, not having realized this before. Dan would have only been taken if she had put up a terrible fight, or, alternatively, if someone had wanted her as much as the Ministry wanted Ezra…**

**And there was only person who would hunt Daniella with such zeal. If Logan also had Ezra, though… Josiah thought of their last meeting with the Death Eater and was instantly perturbed.**

**"No, it wasn't Logan," Jo said with confidence. "It was definitely a woman's voice. And if it had been Logan…" he trailed off, suddenly pensive. "I don't think he would have wasted time stunning me."**

**He pondered Noah's words, finding it helpful to have another perspective from which to think. Perhaps Noah wasn't a Ravenclaw, and perhaps he hadn't been the most stellar of students, but he wasn't stupid, either; indeed, Josiah thought that he had a no-nonsense, organic intelligence that was rather refreshing.**

**A few moments later, Alisa joined them at the table. She, too, grabbed a sandwich, although she paused to inspect the contents of the water bottle critically.**

**"Is this yours?" she asked Josiah, who shook his head lightly.**

**"Dan went out with Ezra this morning to get groceries, and while they were out, we think that whoever captured them used this to turn into Dan to get into our house."**

**There was a moment's pause.**

**"Greengrass?" Alisa said icily. "You were living with Greengrass? What the hell were you thinking, Jo? Or do his Death Eater tendencies not bother you as long as he keeps them in the back garden-"**

**"He's not a D-Death Eater!" Jo said hotly, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn't like to fight with anyone, but that accusation was just too much. "But his family is full of Death Eaters, and they're trying to catch him. That's why... we were trying to keep both of them safe. I know how it sounds, Alisa, but they aren't like you think. I can't believe that he'd hurt innocent people. And whatever you think about Dan, I'm sure you know that she isn't like that."**

**Alisa's expression was still stony, but she fell silent for a few moments, at least.**

**"We think Dan's brother Logan might be behind it," Jo added, looking over at his friend with a hint of a plea. The girl sighed, although what was going on in her mind was anyone's guess.**

**"I'll see what I can do," Alisa mumbled grudgingly. Jo smiled. "I have a meeting this evening anyway."**

**"A meeting for what?" Jo asked curiously, smile forgotten.**

**"Never you mind."**


	27. The Greengrasses

_**Chapter 27 - The Greengrasses**_

Daniella couldn't tell how much time had passed. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, but there wasn't much to look at, either way. There was a chair and a desk tucked against the wall, nothing else, and definitely nothing she could use to get out of there.

She hadn't eaten anything all day, Sabrina's light clothes didn't keep her warm enough, her hands were sore from banging on the door and she hadn't heard anything else since Ezra had stopped screaming. She kept telling herself that was a good thing; at least Logan wasn't torturing him anymore.

Where was he? He could be next door, or in a different level… She sat on the floor by the door. "Ezra?" She called out, tentatively. "Are you there?" Her voice echoed through the room, but no answer came. Daniella closed her eyes. "Ezra?" She called out again, louder.

* * *

**Ezra felt like he'd been hit by a double-decker lorry.**

**He might have slept for a little while - the dark was conducive to sleeping, and the pain had made him tired. However, sleeping on the floor had made him stiff, and the stiffness brought its own pain. He pressed gingerly with two fingertips against his swollen eye.**

**He couldn't hear anyone in the office, but that didn't mean that no one was there. He scooted nearer to the door, trying to peek through the crack at the bottom so that he could see into the hallway. The lights were dimmed. All he could see was carpet and empty hallway.**

**And then, like a whisper, he heard his name. It was so faint that he almost thought he was hallucinating, until he heard it again. Louder this time.**

**He started, craning his neck to look in the direction of the noise, in vain.**

**"Daniella?" he shouted as loud as he dared. "Where are you? Are you alright?"**

* * *

Daniella's heart ached with relief when Ezra's voice reached her. She shifted on the floor, pushing her face against the small crack between the door and the floor. "I'm fine!" she shouted back. His voice was distant, but clear enough. "What did he do to you?! Did they catch everyone?"

Ezra closed his eyes in blessed relief upon hearing that she was okay. It made sense, of course; Logan wanted her safe and sound, of that Ezra was certain. For all their differences, they at least had that in common.

* * *

**"I'm okay too," he shouted back, now with a better idea of the distance between them. He couldn't be sure, but she sounded like she was on the opposite end of the hallway. Luckily, the echoes carried well. "But my wand is gone. I think the others made it out, she stunned Johnston but Ledger was on his way in when she took me!"**

**He cleared his throat, which was still hoarse from the screaming he'd done earlier.**

**"He cursed me, but they can't kill me, so I'll be fine," he continued, after a moment's pause. "Don't give them a reason to do anything to you. I'll try to find a way to get us out of here."**

* * *

Daniella rested her forehead against the door, relieved that everyone was alright for now. Jo hadn't been caught. She was pretty sure Logan wouldn't waste time when he got his hands on Josiah again, but Noah would've gotten him out of the cottage by now. "They took my wand too… I think Sabrina has it."

She blew out a breath, touching her now bare ring finger for the hundredth time. "Make sure of that," she said more firmly. "Just stay alive, yes? You promised," she shouted. She was silent for a few moments, listening intently to what sounded like footsteps. She didn't dare say anything else, fearing they might just take him further away.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah found himself positioned on the denim-blue pillowed couch, looking through the bay window out over the English countryside. It was a beautiful place to have terrible thoughts.**

**Alisa had left for her mystery meeting hours ago, and they had been alone in the house since then. He realized that he had forgotten, impossibly, that Mr. and Mrs. Sparks had been killed in June of that very same year… they had been killed fighting a group of ragtag teenagers, presumably Death Eaters fresh out of Hogwarts. It had been in the paper. He'd meant to write to Alisa, but hadn't ever found the time. Now he regretted it very much…**

**They had been tortured first, of course, for information. They had been Aurors.**

**Josiah thought with a pang of intense sadness that it almost certainly hadn't always been this quiet of a house.**

**"****I just can't believe we let our guard down," he murmured. "I should have known… I knew, I knew it was a terrible idea. We should have just gone, Noah, shouldn't we have? Nobody cares enough about us to capture us and drag us off somewhere, but them… and we just let them go…"**

**Tears welled up in his eyes and he put the jar down so that he could rub on them.**

**"I feel so stupid," he whispered.**

* * *

"Shh…" Noah pulled Jo into his arms, trying to comfort them both. "You're not stupid. You're the smartest person I've ever met. Besides, they would've gone out, eventually. There's nothing you could've done." He kissed the top of Jo's head. "We'll figure out where they are, we'll bring them home."

* * *

**Noah's arms comforted him, but they also took away everything except the pain; he was safe, yes, but Dan and Ezra were not. There was nothing he could do except wait and hope that they would still be okay by the time they got there.**

**He cried until he couldn't cry anymore. It didn't take long, because he was exhausted and scared and hungry. When he looked up, there were two large, wet spots on Noah's shirt. He dabbed at them, sniffling.**

**"We have to find them," he said in a small voice. "I don't know what I'll do if… if something happened to them. I don't know what I'll do."**

**He wiped his eyes again, this time with more force.**

**The back door opened and shut quickly. There was the sound of rustling and footsteps. Alisa called them into the kitchen and ****looked at them blankly.**

**"****I have good news and bad news about your friends."**

**Jo looked up at her, wide-eyed. His heart skipped a beat.**

**"Do you know where they are?" he asked in a desperate whisper. Alisa shrugged.**

**"One of our Ministry contacts gave a report at the meeting - he says that the entire eighth floor was closed off today due to an accidental explosion of Garroting Gas. The funny thing, though, was that they wouldn't let anybody up to check." Alisa looked at Jo, then at Noah, hoping for some form of recognition of her effort. She found none and rolled her eyes at them, frustrated at having to explain herself. "Eighth floor is the Security Division," she elaborated.**

**Jo inhaled quickly, feeling a bit dizzy at the rush of relief he was feeling. If that was true, then… but… His face fell. Alisa nodded.**

**"That's your good and bad news," she said darkly, pulling a large cardboard box out of the bag and opening it to reveal a family-sized box of fish and chips.**

* * *

Noah didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He offered Jo a faint smirk when he pulled away; it was the best he could do, given the circumstances. "They're tough. And they know we'll look for them."

He pulled away when Alisa joined them, keeping one arm around Jo's back, bracing himself for the news. He hadn't expected her to find out anything so quickly.

He looked blankly at her though, not sure where she was going with that story. He looked at Jo, still confused, then back at Alisa. "So… they're in the Ministry?" Oh shit… Ezra had a prize on his head. How would they take him out of there? Dozens of wizards and witches worked in that place.

He rubbed his face with his free hand, overwhelmed with the task ahead of them. "Any ideas?"

* * *

**Alisa summoned a plate with a lazy flick of her wand and began piling chips onto it. She flopped a piece of fish on top of them and, with some finality, sat down at the table. She gave Noah a searching look, as though she couldn't decide whether to be amused or exasperated.**

**"They're probably in the Ministry," she said, purposely adding the extra word. "Like I said, they wouldn't let anyone else up, so we can't be sure. But the eighth floor is where the holding rooms are. And," she said, stuffing two chips into her mouth at once. She chewed slowly, drawing out the sentence. "It also happens to be the floor that Logan Hawke works on. I asked after him, just for you."**

**Jo picked at a chip listlessly. He'd thought that the news would make him feel better, but if anything, he felt even worse. The chances of all three of them getting into the Ministry undetected, finding both Dan and Ezra, and leaving unscathed were abysmally small.**

**Jo stared off into empty space for several long, thoughtful moments. His eyes widened slowly. He motioned to the water bottle, which was still on the table, looking innocuous.**

**"What if…" he started, waving his fingers vaguely. "What if we found some way to… use this… and…" He trailed off as the train of thought died out.**

* * *

"That lying bastard…" Noah muttered angrily. He was certain Logan was behind all that. "That's where he took them, for sure! He's probably holding them there until… until…" he paused.

He'd never really understood why Logan had such a big interest on his sister, to be honest. But that reminded him of something else. "Whatever we do, we need to do it soon. Wasn't the prize on Ezra's head his parents' idea? They're probably going to get him very soon. And then, there's no telling where they'll take him."

He looked at the bottle, then at Jo. A few moments passed in silence. He looked at the bottle again. "I suppose we could disguise ourselves as someone else, but how would that put us in the Ministry?"

* * *

**Jo looked over at Noah uneasily, not sure that he wanted his boyfriend to finish that sentence he was working on. He looked back at this plate, resuming his thoughts. He stared at the bottle hard, as though it would come to life and cough up some answers for him.**

**"Well," he began slowly, taking his time so that his thoughts were organized. "Only a select number of people are allowed on that floor. If we knew who they were… and, maybe, if we could…"**

**He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to calm his nerves. Everything he thought of seemed to be a terrible offense, but under the circumstances…**

**"We could stun them, you see, or put them in a magically induced sleep, somehow, and… well, become them," he said simply. "And no one would be able to question us going up there then, would they?" He looked over at Alisa, expecting her to be critical of his initial idea. Instead, she looked pensive.**

**"It could work," she said slowly, still eating with gusto. "I'd need to get a list of all the people in that department. If there are three of them, we're good to go."**

**Josiah raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.**

**"You're coming?" he asked in a manner that he hoped wasn't rude. She snorted at him.**

**"Of course I'm bloody coming," she said, somewhat derisively. "After I save their skins, I'm going to need their help."**

* * *

Noah followed the conversation while he ate absent-mindedly, his thoughts still on the bottle. His surprised glance at Alisa turned into a calculating look. He had heard of how skilled she was, of course, but could they really count on her? She didn't like Ezra or Daniella.

But then again, he hadn't liked Ezra either, until recently – not that he would admit that in front of the Slytherin anytime soon. If they could count on her help, they might just have a chance of coming out of that alive.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl. "You will help us, even though you have no love to spare on them, because you need their help?" Somehow that thought didn't give him much comfort. "Excuse my bluntness, but when push comes to shove, we've got their backs, just because they're our mates. Do you?"

He chewed on a chip, looking out at the window instead of at them. "You know, it might be the easiest part, getting into the Ministry." He met their eyes and a small smirk blossomed on his lips. "If I look like Greengrass, they'll be eager to get me in there, don't you think? We have his wand too!"

* * *

**Alisa smiled a small, teasing smile.**

**"You know what they say, Ledger," she said airily. "The enemy of my enemy, et cetera." She finished the statement by shoving the rest of the food on her plate into her mouth hungrily, with no regard for being ladylike whatsoever. She groaned in appreciation and licked her fingers. She noticed that Noah was still giving her a skeptical look, and so she sighed, once again forced to elaborate.**

**"Look," she said seriously, folding her hands in front of her on the table. Her hands were small; she had long, thin fingers and wore several bronze rings. "You're right. I don't like Hawke or Greengrass. I don't like Slytherins in general, to be honest. But this is a war, and I'm on the right side. If they are, too, as you say, then that makes us comrades. And I won't leave them behind."**

**Josiah, who was still picking at his food, wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or terrified. He finally settled on terrified when Noah opened his mouth to suggest a use for the Polyjuice Potion.**

**"No," he said firmly, at the same time Alisa said "Yes."**

**Josiah looked at her, mildly scandalized.**

**"No, absolutely not," he repeated, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. "How do you know that will work? What if they've already sent news down that they've captured him, and-"**

**"They haven't," Alisa said with finality. "Nobody's been up to get their orders. It would have been in the paper if the news had broken."**

**Josiah shook his head, undeterred.**

**"Well, what if… what if…" the sentence trailed off and faded away, and Jo was left with a sinking feeling and very little appetite. He pushed his plate away. "I'm tired," he said shortly. "I need time to think about it."**

* * *

Noah studied Alisa for a long time, but eventually nodded in agreement. He had the feeling he was missing something, but clearly she wasn't going to tell them anything, so he didn't insist. Maybe Jo could get something out of her later.

He stopped with the half-eaten chip on its way to his mouth, looking from one to the other. "Jo… we don't really have any other chance. We need to get in there and storming in cursing half of the Ministry staff would just get their attention. They'd Apparate Daniella and Ezra out before he got to the eight level."

* * *

**"Alright, fine," Jo snapped, now visibly irritated. He looked at Noah darkly; his hazel eyes had darkened like storm clouds. "I'll take the potion, then. Give me his wand."**

**He held out his hand, a pointed, aggressive gesture.**

* * *

"No," Noah cut him off, and instinctively grabbed the water bottle with the potion, his temper stirring very much unlike him, when it concerned Josiah.

He stood and turned away from the table, teeth clenched, as he tried to control his feelings. He walked to the large window and looked out into the trees.

* * *

**"Oh, right," Jo said, pulling back his hand and clenching it into an angry fist. "Aye, that's what I thought. Even though I'm better at spells, you have to put yourself in the position of ultimate danger and play hero. It's that bloody motorbike all over again!"**

**Alisa took a long, slow sip of her drink. When she finished, she cleared her throat. Josiah looked in the other direction, arms crossed.**

**"Well," she began with mock pleasantness. "I don't really care which of you does it, but it has to be one of you. My voice will give me away. And he's right," she looked pointedly at Jo. "It's our only chance. And if we're going to take it, we have to come to a consensus by morning."**

**She, too, looked out the window. Darkness had fallen heavily. She stood.**

**"And with that, I'll be off to bed. Do try not to yell too much. I'm a very light sleeper."**

* * *

Noah closed his eyes, trying to control his anger, but Jo's words made that much more difficult. Merlin, how he wanted to hit something!

Alisa walked out and the kitchen fell silent.

"I'm not trying to play hero," he muttered, his teeth still clenched. "I may not be the best or the fastest in a duel, but that doesn't mean I'm not capable of protecting myself. I'm not useless!" He exhaled sharply through his nose. "I am the strongest, and they're not going to be gentle…" he trailed off, fighting the temptation to smash the window to release his frustration.

No matter how hard he tried, no one thought he could do anything off of a broom. No one trusted him to keep them safe. Greengrass kept throwing it at his face, and now Jo too. He didn't believe Noah could even protect himself!

"You told me once Quidditch wasn't all I was good at. Apparently, you didn't really believe it…" He murmured, still staring at the trees as if they'd offended him gravely.

* * *

**Josiah closed his eyes, trying to meditate on the cool black of his eyelids before he spoke again.**

**"You can protect yourself, aye. You're the strongest, aye. But in this body!" Jo motioned vigorously toward Noah's torso. "You're going to be Greengrass, remember? Merlin's pants, Noah, even I'm stronger than Greengrass!" He stated this with a hint of desperation. "I can lift forty-five kilos of rope straight over my head! But you're going to be Greengrass! I don't think he can lift more than five noodles to his mouth at a time with the help of a fork!"**

**Josiah let out a large, frustrated sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers.**

**"I do believe it," he said lowly. "But you have to be realistic, Noah. And you need to try to understand how it feels, for me, to watch you volunteer for, you know, a glorified suicide mission. That's all."**

* * *

Noah looked away, and Josiah rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into his pockets and scowling at the floor.

An unexpected chuckle escaped his lips, but his humor darkened again quickly. "You need to understand it feels the same for me." He was still looking out the window; it made it easier to not give in to Josiah's will. And he couldn't back down; for some reason he couldn't explain, he just couldn't.

"Muscles aren't everything in a physical fight, contrary to popular belief." Noah turned around then, to look at his boyfriend. His sweet, good-natured boyfriend. He shook his head. "It's about knowing how to move, tolerating the pain…" he looked down at his feet. "And having the personality, the anger to hurt someone without thinking twice. That's not you, Jo. It could never be you."

He looked at the bottle and said the words that were stuck on his throat. "If I'm not good enough to do this, then what am I good for? If you don't let me do this…" he hesitated, opened his mouth, but no words came out. Did Jo have any idea how he would hate himself if he allowed Jo to do that in his place?

* * *

**Josiah looked at the back of Noah's head; he could see his boyfriend's pensive face reflected in the window. He took another long, deep breath. He closed his eyes and tried to listen, tried to understand.**

**"I know that," he murmured, eyes still closed. The last sentence, though, struck him. It didn't offend him, or hurt him, but it rang in his mind for a few long, poignant moments before he accepted the fact. Noah was right; that wasn't him, could never be him. Hadn't he always wanted to be a Healer? From the very moment that he realized he could use magic to help people, to cure people, to make people happy…**

**There wasn't enough room in his heart for malice. Not even now.**

**He opened his eyes.**

**"Fine," he said, shortly. He might have given in, but that didn't mean that he had to be happy about it. "I never said you weren't good enough," he added, looking stung. "I just… worry about you. I know ye worry about me, too, but it's…"**

**He looked at the floor.**

**"It's hard," he mumbled, reaching out and pulling his boyfriend into a close, tight hug. "I don't want us to have to fight anymore. It's hard."**

**He plopped his forehead in the middle of Noah's bulky chest.**

* * *

Noah slipped his arms around Jo. "You're the kindest, purest person I've ever met, Jo." He rested his cheek against Jo's head. "You looked at me, and saw something in me no one had ever seen before, not even myself. I'll never do anything that makes me lose that. If I'm fighting for you, I have the best reason to win. And I won't stop short of that."

"Plus, you won't be far away," he added after a while, smiling into Jo's hair a bit playfully. "It's not like I'm going to do this alone. I just prefer to have your wand pointed at me, than pointing one at you, that is all."

* * *

**"I've a right mind to hex you anyhow," Jo said sassily, although his words were muffled by Noah's chest. "You big hard-head."**

**He rested there for a moment, relishing the feeling, then gave Noah one last squeeze. He leaned up, kissed him on the lips, and pulled away slowly.**

**"We should try to get some sleep, if we can," he murmured, trying to be sensible about the whole thing despite his terrible feeling. "And you can practice a bit with his wand before bed; it might be fussy, and that would give you right away, I reckon."**

**He went back to the table, where he had rested his bag. He opened the top and peered in at its contents.**

**"I'll try to find one of his hairs while you do that," he murmured, hoping that Ezra shed a lot more than his perfect hairline seemed to suggest.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**After changing into more comfortable attire (a green silk day-dress under a black open-front robe), Sabrina walked purposefully down the hallway. She stopped at a door on the far end and, using her knotted aspen wand to unlock the door, let herself inside.**

**She silently conjured light at the tip of her wand and looked at Dan heavily, with half-lidded eyes that seemed to pierce the darkness.**

**"They've just owled," she said quietly and without context. "They want to see you first. You're to come with me."**

**She didn't brandish her wand in any threatening manner, because she didn't need to; she thought it was incredibly obvious that one wrong move by the other girl would find Sabrina the victor.**

**She would relish the opportunity, though, of course, however unlikely…**

* * *

Daniella covered her eyes with one hand, squinting at the sudden light that hurt her eyes. She'd lost track of time, she had no idea if it was night or day. Logan had brought her a sandwich and water at some point – judging by her stomach, it had been hours ago – but she had refused to answer to anything he told her.

Who was she talking about?! Ministry people? Death Eaters?!

Gritting her teeth, she got to her feet, trying to gather as much strength and confidence as she could. This might be her only chance to get out, if only she could find out where Ezra was being kept.

She blinked hard a few times and lowered her hand, slowly getting used to the light, then searched Sabrina's eyes, refusing to let the girl see weakness. "You have something that doesn't belong to you. Give me my wand back."

* * *

**Sabrina looked at her, unimpressed by her courage. Apparently twelve hours in the dark with only minimal food wasn't enough to break the girl's spirit.**

**Well, that was fine. No spirit was unbreakable.**

**"Your wand will be returned to you when it is deemed appropriate," she said, without emotion. She reached into one of her robe's inner pockets and produced a simple black robe. "Put this on. You'll only embarrass yourself if they see you like that."**

**She leaned gently on the door frame, staring unflinchingly with no intention of looking away.**

* * *

Daniella snorted a humorless chuckle, very much unlike her current state of mind. "Well, these were your clothes, remember?" She said sarcastically, but took the robe. Maybe she could warm up now, at least.

She slipped into the robe, then carefully repositioned her hair. It was still red, and pretty disheveled, which annoyed her far more than the clothing, but she wasn't going to ask for anything, for sure. At least the braid was still holding it together, thanks to Jo's handiwork.

"If I'm now deemed presentable, your highness, let's go," she said even more sarcastically. "It's not polite to keep our guests waiting."

* * *

**Cora Greengrass snapped her silver-covered compact mirror shut between long, thin fingers; her nails were long and claw-like and painted a glossy jet black. Her brown-black hair was wrapped up in an intricate braided bun. As the door opened, her brown, almond-shaped eyes narrowed. She saw Sabrina first, the lovely girl; yes, Cora saw a lot of herself in Sabrina. She was followed by a redhead whom she could only assume must be the Hawke girl.**

**She studied Daniella fiercely, unapologetically.**

**"Leon, darling," she said, in a voice so artificially sweet that it was practically nausea-inducing. "Here she is. Our little guest."**

**She stood, straightening out her emerald green pencil skirt. She took a few slow steps forward, tilting her head down to get a good look at the ratty-looking girl. She let out a small, soft sigh of obvious disappointment.**

**She thought she'd raised a better son.**

**"Sit," she said curtly, motioning to a wooden chair on one side of the room with her raven nails. "We have much to discuss."**

* * *

Daniella stopped abruptly when she saw who was waiting in the room. A terrible sense of dread filled her, but she made her best not to let it show. She'd never met Ezra's father in person, and only once had a brief exchange with his mother, but it had been enough to decide she would rather eat raw rat spleen than _"sit and discuss"_ anything with them.

She met Mrs. Greengrass' eyes, trying not to think of how similar to Ezra's they were and how ragged she must look compared to the woman's appearance.

She looked around and, not finding any sign of Ezra or Logan anywhere, decided she might as well play along until she figured out what was going on.

"Do we?" she said, and was glad to realize her voice didn't show how shaky she felt.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra was starving, but he was far too proud to knock on the door and ask for anything from Logan. He was occupying himself instead by running the events of the previous day over and over again in his mind. What could he have done differently? Was this his fault?**

**Now that they were here, how could he keep his promise to Daniella? How was he going to get them out alive?**

**It comforted him somewhat to know that she was nearby, but it also made his heart ache all the more. Without his wand, he was useless. Without his wand, he could only wait for an opportunity, and then, he would be too weak to manage to fight again… Logan had made sure of that.**

**It was dark, but his eyes were open, and so he noticed right away when the small amount of dim light coming from under the door was blocked off suddenly, presumably by a body on the other side.**

**He blinked and looked to the side of his peripheral vision, but didn't turn his head.**

* * *

Logan stood outside the door long enough to swallow his frustration. He hadn't wanted to leave Daniella alone with those people, not after they said they were willing to kill her. If only she had listened, when he tried to explain to her…

He flicked his wand with too much force, unlocking and opening the door until it hit the wall behind it. He conjured magical flames that floated quietly above their heads and closed the door behind him again.

"Hope you had a nice night's sleep," he said coldly. "It's time for a walk. Stand up."

* * *

**Ezra's eyes quickly centered themselves on the ceiling again once he heard Logan's voice. If his parents weren't here already, he thought, they would surely be here soon. Whatever Logan was here to do, Ezra wasn't going to help him accomplish it.**

**It was literally the least he could do.**

**"No," said Ezra, sounding bored.**

* * *

Logan exhaled harshly. He knew he should've tortured him longer, knew he shouldn't have given in to his sister's pleading last night. He should've broken his spirit when he had the chance.

He needed to return to that main room quickly.

"I really don't have the patience right now, boy," he muttered, conjuring a black robe to hide Ezra's bloody and dirty clothes – his parents had understood when he explained the need to use some force, but he couldn't present their son to them too damaged.

He leaned over and grabbed Greengrass by the arm, hoisting him up with some effort. "You really ought to re-think your attitude."

* * *

**"Do you ever?" Ezra asked sardonically, making his best effort at a dead fish impression. He winced slightly as Logan grabbed him by his sore arm; the bone twisted in its socket painfully, and he stood up half-heartedly to relieve it.**

**Indeed, it did seem that Logan was in a hurry. For what reason, however, Ezra could only speculate…**

**"They've come, then?" he asked the other boy with thinly-veiled amusement. He locked eyes with Logan then, searching that depth of moss-green.**

**"You really ought to re-think your fashion sense," he said darkly, eyeing the robe before looking back at the wall.**

* * *

Logan's teeth were clenched so tightly, his jaw was starting to hurt. He somehow managed to get Greengrass into the robe, after a silent and slightly obstinate struggle.

"Yes, they have. You're done, Greengrass." He then pointed his wand at the boy's face, cleaning the dry blood. He didn't care enough to heal the bruises though – if his parents asked, he would only need to point to the purple bruise around his own eye.

He examined him from head to toe. "You won't look any better than that after they're done with you, anyway. Let's go, move," he said, pushing him towards the door.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Josiah huddled in one corner of the abandoned storage room beside Ollivander's, feeling like a criminal. Which, now that he had time to think about it, he supposed he was. They all were.**

**He wondered if there was such a thing as a criminal for a good cause.**

**"Are you ready?" Alisa whispered in his ear. He jumped, even though he had known she was there.**

**"Not yet," he hissed back, looking frantically at the small amount of Polyjuice Potion that he had divided evenly into three small glasses. He held up a small, corked vial with two hairs in it. He closed his eyes and, taking a deep breath, unstopped the cork and dumped the sleek black hairs into his hand.**

**He put them carefully into the middle vial, where they dissolved. The potion began to bubble and began to turn rapidly green. He turned back to Alisa, then, nodding silently.**

**"Ready," he whispered.**

**Alisa aimed her wand at one of the two guards standing at the front of the alley.**

**"_Imperio_," she whispered.**

* * *

Noah had decided not to bring his wand. He wasn't sure at all now that that had been a good decision, but if he had two wands on him, any other guards might get suspicious. He'd spent a couple of hours last night practicing with Ezra's wand until he was fairly confident he could use it.

That was, if he remembered to be "gentle" with it. He looked at Alisa, then at the guards. Jo was busy with the potions, so he supposed it was his cue to act.

"_Imperio_," he murmured, aiming at the other guard, with a wrinkle of intense concentration marking his forehead.

* * *

**Jo pulled his wand out, too; with some dismay, he realized that his hand was shaking. He braced his other hand around his wrist in an attempt to calm it. The guards, under the influence of the Imperius Curse, began to walk slowly and dazedly to their hiding place. Once inside, Jo slid the door quietly shut behind them.**

**They stood there aimlessly; Josiah found the sight rather distressing.**

**"_Stupefy!_" he whispered loudly. One of the guards dropped to the floor; Alisa took out the other one. They landed with a painful-sounding thud; Jo put one hand over his mouth, horrified with himself.**

**"Which one do you want?" Alisa whispered conversationally, getting to her feet and squinting at the two unconscious men. Josiah looked at her, perturbed, then furrowed his eyebrows in worried thought.**

**"This one, I suppose," he said, giving up his last vestige of hope that he might do something kind today. He reached down to the older guard's head and plucked a couple of grey hairs. He carried them gingerly, as though they were radioactive, and then dropped them into his own glass of Polyjuice Potion. It bubbled and swirled, eventually turning a chalky pastel yellow.**

**"Well, whenever you're ready," Alisa said, putting a couple of brown hairs into her glass and watching it with interest as it changed color. Josiah pursed his lips, looking down at his glass again. It smelled like buttered eggs.**

**"Alright, on the count of three," he said desperately. Alisa nodded. "One… two… three!"**

**The Ravenclaws drank; almost immediately, their skin began to bubble like wax and change shape.**

**"Oh, bollocks," said Jo, after his transformation was complete. One of his shirt buttons had popped off under the stress of his new body's wider middle. "I should have picked the thin one." He hurried off with his clothes, tugging off the older man's uniform. Then, he looked up at Noah expectantly.**

**"Aren't you going to drink?" he asked, looking down at the remaining glass of potion, which was now sparkling faintly in the dim sunlight.**

* * *

Noah hesitated, looking into the green contents of his glass, but got distracted watching the others and didn't take his until Jo urged him. "Right…" he said, flushing a little and emptied the glass before he had more time to second-guess that plan.

He dropped the glass, surprised by the taste of the potion and the sensation of the transformation. "Wow, good thing it's just a little. I wouldn't want to go through this plan drunk…" he murmured to himself.

When it was all over, he took a hand to his now longer and dark hair. Then he flexed his skinny arms and sighed. "I am so going to force him to start working out after this!"

Remembering he needed to hurry up, he changed into Ezra's clothes he'd brought.

"Alright, I'm ready," he said, looking at the others and recovering Ezra's wand from the ground. "I'll go out first and… make a mess, I guess."

He offered guard-Jo a smile full of a confidence he didn't quite feel and opened the door, coming out into the main street.

It took an impressive nine seconds for someone to finally look at him and realize whom that face belonged to.

"That's him!" A tiny witch said, not very lowly, to her companion, pointing a finger at him. A few more people looked at them, to see what was happening.

Noah felt suddenly very vulnerable, but there was no coming back now. He raised his wand, aimed at a street lamp and murmured, "_Confringo!_"

The lamp exploded and all hell broke loose.

* * *

**Jo, now fully uniformed, straightened his Security badge and gave Noah (who now looked like Ezra) a small smile in return. It felt incredibly strange, knowing that his boyfriend was under that skin… luckily, he didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it.**

**"They've noticed," Alisa said lowly as the fervor began to pick up outside. It was the explosion, though, that gave Jo a start. Alisa had to drag him out of the storage room by the arm to get him moving again. "Come on!"**

**Jo followed her as fast as his unfamiliar body could trot, which was apparently not very fast. By the time he'd jogged a few meters, he was gasping for breath.**

**"Stop!" he yelled at Noah, brandishing his wand and reaching for a pair of charmed handcuffs. "In the name of… the law… bloody hell…"**

**Alisa got there first, yanking Noah's arms behind his back with such force that Jo worried for him. He quickly recovered, however, and addressed the crowd as Alisa cuffed the apparent suspect.**

**"It's all under control, folks," he said in what he hoped was a conciliatory manner. "Go back about your business quickly, now, get home to your families. You leave this to us."**

**The crowd, still murmuring, began to scatter; Jo grabbed Noah's other arm, wincing. Then, with a pang of panic, he looked at Alisa.**

**"I've never been to the Ministry," he whispered, alarmed.**

**"I have," she whispered back simply, before Apparating them out.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Logan pushed Greengrass along the hallway, then remembered something and stopped the younger boy, glancing at the end of the hallway. The door to the room where the others were was closed.

He searched his trousers pocket. "Put this back on," he said, holding the emerald ring Sabrina had given him on his open hand.

* * *

**Ezra stopped, looking down lazily at Logan's open palm, mostly through his puffy eye. It took him a moment to realize what it was; when he did, his heart skipped a beat. He snatched the ring out of Logan's hand angrily, then held it up to the light and inspected it.**

**He set his jaw and, with great difficulty, slid it onto his finger. It would go back to Daniella soon, but for now… for now, it was all he could do to keep it from someone like Logan.**

**He stumbled gracelessly through the door, and was instantly aware that all eyes in the room were on him. The first gaze he met was that of his father; under that cold, calculating gaze, Ezra felt fear the likes of which he hadn't felt since he was a child.**

**He ripped his eyes away from that piercing stare and fixed them on Daniella instead.**

**"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice raspy. His mother clicked her tongue, and he looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed.**

**"Oh, darling, don't look so surly," she purred, coming around the chair that Daniella was sitting in. Her heels clacked on the floor, ringing in the silence. She stopped in front of Ezra and put one cold hand on the side of his face. "We've come to take you home, Ezra. Your father and I have been so, so worried. Sabrina here tells me that you've been living in the wilderness," she continued, looking sideways at Daniella and then back to her son.**

**"You must be so tired. Come; sit."**

**She patted another chair, although this one was slightly more padded than the one she had offered Daniella. Ezra gave his mother a look of intense distrust, but he knew that he had no other choice; he limped across the room and, wordlessly, sat.**

**The black nails that raked through his hair felt less like a mother's loving touch and more like an eagle's talons that had finally closed around their prey. He closed his eyes, feeling hatred well up inside of him. He'd always been so powerless in front of his parents, powerless to do anything but follow their orders.**

**It wasn't until his father spoke that he opened his eyes again.**

**"Your payment, as promised," Leon Greengrass said, crossing the room and pulling out a large bag that was surely full of galleons. He dropped it into Logan's hand. "You've done well, Hawke."**

**After lightening his pockets, Leon straightened himself to full height, slowly turning to look at Ezra more closely. He took several slow, long steps until he was right in front of his son. With one tender hand, he raised Ezra's chin.**

**With the other, he executed a slap so loud that it nearly echoed.**

**"Fool," he whispered, taking his handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his hand. "You couldn't be more useless if you tried."**

* * *

Daniella's eyes settled on Ezra from the moment he entered the room. Her fingers closed on the fabric of her robe; she just wanted to get up and into his arms, but they wouldn't even let her take one step towards him.

She only had time to nod to answer his question before his mother positioned herself between them, hiding him from her view.

Hatred bubbled up in the pit of her stomach as she saw Logan accepting that bloody money. "Traitor," she murmured contemptuously when he met her eyes. He didn't answer. For some reason, he looked nervous and less confident now that he was not in charge.

When she looked back at Ezra, his expression made her want to scream. She opened her mouth, but before she could call out to him, his father…

"Stop that!" she yelled before she could stop herself, rising to her feet.

* * *

**Leon ignored the stupid girl's plea, but he did move to stand behind Ezra instead of in front of him so that he might look at her properly while he taunted her.**

**A girl like that would never learn unless they paid dearly for their mistakes. He could see now that his son was far more troubled than he thought; there was only one solution now. He raised his wand, gripping his son by the hair and pulling up his head. Ezra fought, trying to jerk away.**

**"Hold him," his father said mercilessly. Cora stepped forward, putting one gentle hand on Ezra's arm; her grip tightened, and she held him with all her might against the back of the chair. Even though his mother wasn't strong in the least, he was so weak, so sore…**

**He was still struggling as he felt the pointed tip of his father's wand against his temple.**

**"Look at her," Leon whispered into Ezra's ear. Against his will, Ezra obeyed; he looked at Daniella, searched her eyes. He tried to apologize without words. His vision began to cloud with water. "This is the price you pay, Ezra. Look at her."**

**"No," he said through gritted teeth, rocking in the chair desperately. His father grabbed his shoulder and pinched, hard. A thin white mist began to emanate from his wand; it worked its way into Ezra's ear, his nostrils, his open, gasping mouth. His eyes slid out of focus; a tear fell from one eye.**

* * *

Daniella didn't know what they were going to do, but she didn't want to find out. Desperately, she looked around, trying to find her wand, any wand, something.

His father rested his wand against Ezra's head. "Please, don't hurt him…" she breathed. She met Ezra's eyes, but everything was tear-blurred. She moved, tried to lunge at his father, do something, but Logan grabbed her arms and pulled her back.

"Ezra?" She called, struggling, trying to release herself from her brother's grip, her eyes never leaving Ezra's. "Ezra, stay with me, fight it. Let me go, Logan, please…"

"It'll be over soon, Dany," Logan whispered in her ear. His hands were like iron claws around her arms. She was so angry, but nobody moved, nobody cared…

His eyes slid out of focus…

"_LET HIM GO!_" Heat spread through her body, and suddenly Logan let out a cry of pain and let go of her. At the same time, the chair where they kept Ezra exploded and his father and mother were thrown on their backs, as if pushed by an invisible hand.

* * *

**"Stupid girl!" Leon roared, rolling through the rubble of the chair with surprising dexterity. He rushed forward, wand held aloft. "I knew I shouldn't have let you live! Worthless bitch!"**

**Ezra lay slumped in the pile of wood, completely limp. His eyes were still open, and his chest was still heaving uncomfortably, but the cloud that was made by the spell hadn't lifted. His mother, who hadn't yet recovered from the shock of the blast, fumbled around for her wand…**

**Meanwhile, in the hallway outside, Josiah was struggling to keep up.**

**"I can't run anymore," he panted, bracing himself against the wall. "I'll stand guard here, you… go on…" Alisa looked back at her friend, concerned.**

**"Got it," she said simply, rushing ahead of Noah and toward the room where the noise had only recently exploded. She looked sideways at Noah, eyebrows furrowed.**

**"How do you want to do this?" she said seriously, holding her aspen wand tightly as they stood behind the door at the end of the hallway. "I'll follow your lead."**

* * *

Logan stared at his burned hands, lips curled in an expression of pain. How had Dany done that?! He didn't have time to think about it, though, because one moment later she was taking a step away from the wand Leon Greengrass aimed at her chest.

He looked in the man's eyes and knew instantly what was going to happen. He forgot the pain.

Nobody… Nobody touched his sister and lived to see another day! He raised his own wand as the older Greengrass opened his mouth to curse Daniella.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" The flash of green light filled the room and the sudden silence was only interrupted by a loud thump as Greengrass fell, eyes still wide open and lifeless.

When he heard the explosion, Noah hoped the potion was almost wearing off. He gave Jo a quick concerned look, but didn't say anything. As far as he was concerned, it was just as well if his boyfriend stood out of harm's way.

He approached the door silently. They couldn't make out the words. "I'll go in first," he whispered. "I still look like Greengrass, it might confuse them and buy us a few seconds. You go in right behind me and-"

They heard those two deadly words perfectly, and Noah watched the flash of green light coming from the floor, under the door with a mix of terror and disbelief.

"Shit," he muttered and, grabbing the doorknob, he ran into the room, forgetting all about any plans.

* * *

**Alisa heard the words at the same time as Noah, and her eyes widened then narrowed in resignation. She followed him so closely that she almost stepped on his heels; giving no thought to the fact that she had a female voice and a male body, she pointed her wand at the nearest person she didn't recognize - which turned out to be Logan - and yelled "_Stupefy!_"**

**She then whipped around, ready for battle; however, there wasn't much of a battle to be had. She surveyed the scene quickly, but her thoughts were interrupted by a strangled scream of fury from someone on the far side of the room. Cora Greengrass, her hair unpinned and curly around her shoulders, had finally gotten to her feet.**

**The two women exchanged a few hexes, none of them hitting the other, before Alisa saw the other woman's candy-red lips start to form that familiar shape - the first syllable of the Killing Curse.**

**She pursed her lips, unwilling to follow the path of her parents so soon.**

**"_Avada Kedavra!_" she rasped, not quite loud enough to be a shout, and yet the words seemed to echo forever… the woman fell, dead, and Alisa paused for a moment, stunned. The shock lasted for only a moment, however, before she worked up the mental faculties to keep moving.**

**"Get out of here!" she yelled at Daniella, motioning vigorously with her wand. She then turned to face Sabrina, her brow furrowed. She always had wanted a rematch…**

* * *

Daniella stared in shock at her brother; when he fell down, stunned, she found herself looking at a man on guard's clothing with a woman's voice. Beside that man was… "Ezra?!" She looked at the Ezra on the ground, then back at the Ezra that walked towards her.

"It's me, Noah!" He looked around the room, holding Ezra's wand so tightly it had been firing red sparks since he'd entered the room. Seeing Alisa dueling with the only opponent left standing, he focused on Daniella again.

"What happened? Are yo-" But Daniella wasn't listening anymore. She'd dropped on her knees, searching Logan's clothes feverishly, ignoring the stranger with a girl's voice.

A curse flew right beside her ear, ruffling her red hair. She found her wand on Logan's back pocket, retrieved it and hurried to where Ezra was, still looking unaware of his surroundings.

"Ezra?" She whispered, her voice shaking as she rested a hand against his chest. His eyes were blank but he was still breathing. "Can you hear me? Come on, love, talk to me…"

Noah dropped to his knees beside her. "Daniella, we need to get out…"

* * *

**Sabrina circled the guard slowly, stepping emotionlessly over Logan's stunned body to get a better vantage point. Suddenly, however, his flesh began to bubble and peel away… her eyes widened, then narrowed at the shorter, blonde girl in front of her now.**

**"You," she said with monotone dismay.**

**"Me," Alisa replied, mockingly. She flung the first hex, a violent blue streak like lightning that sizzled through the air and made the entire room feel hot for a moment. Sabrina dodged it, but only barely; she sent a stunning spell that was easily deflected.**

**Jo burst into the room, clothed in a baggy uniform that no longer fit him; he had tightened the belt around his waist and looked around in a panic. It was then that he saw all the people lying on the floor, some of whom were surely…**

**"Oh," he said weakly, holding his wand out and rushing toward Noah. "Noah, we have to get out, the Security is coming, I heard it over the radio-"**

**An orange hex came hurtling toward his head, and he ducked. He looked down at Ezra; Noah and Dan were huddled around him. His eyes were clouded, a sort of vague milky glaze that Josiah had definitely seen before.**

**"Carry him," he told Noah desperately before grabbing Daniella by the arm. "Alisa, we have to go now!"**

**No sooner had he said the words than there was a bloodcurdling scream; he released Dan's arm instinctively, running toward his friend, who was now on the floor, motionless. Sabrina lay across from her, stunned.**

**"Alisa?" he shouted, bending over to take her pulse. It was there, but faint. "Oh no… alright… Noah, we have to get out! Take Dan and Ezra, I'll take Alisa, and…"**

* * *

Noah, looking like himself again, looked over when Alisa screamed. Everything was going wrong; he looked at Jo, heard muffled voices in the distance…

He grabbed Daniella's arm with more force than necessary to get her attention. "Help Jo, get Alisa out. I'll take Ezra."

"No, I won't leave him!" Daniella's eyes were bright with tears, and she looked about to lose control. What would happen if she stayed there any longer, Noah couldn't tell.

"Go, Dan!" Noah insisted, hurrying her. "Jo needs help carrying her and I can't Apparate the two of you out. I'll be right behind you, go!"

Daniella hesitated, but released her grip on Ezra and ran towards the corner where Jo was trying to carry Alisa. She took one of the girl's arms and helped pulling her up. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Noah would follow, she said, "Take us out of here, Jo!"

Noah slipped Ezra's wand into his back pocket and shifted Ezra, then hoisted him up with effort. He wasn't quite as light as he seemed. "Come on, mate, let's get out of here before the real security gets here."

He had just started the movement to Apparate out when a Trip Jinx made him stumble over and fall under Ezra's dead weight.

"Not so fast, boy!"

He wriggled out from under Ezra and turned around. Logan was getting up on his feet, looking slightly deranged, wand aimed at Noah's eyes. He reached for his back pocket, but Ezra's wand wasn't there.

"I'm tired of you people always ruining my plans!" Logan said silkily.

Noah crawled away from Logan, all the while trying to feel the floor for the wand. He looked over Logan's shoulder at the door; the voices had gotten louder.

Logan heard them too, turned to the door, and flicked his wand. It shut violently, keeping everyone else out. Surely the guards would get through it in a matter of seconds, but Noah had to take Ezra out of there before that.

"I'd prefer to end the Mudblood's miserable life, but you'll do just as nicely. You can't even fight like a real wizard!" Logan glanced at Ezra. "Then I'll take care of him."

Noah hadn't found the wand because he didn't dare look away from Logan, but he found one of the legs of a broken chair. "No, I don't," he said quietly to keep Logan's eyes on his. "I fight like a Mudblood!" He swung the piece of wood like a Quidditch bat, hitting Logan's knee with as much force as he could gather.

Logan swore viciously, grabbing his knee, and sent a curse that hit the wall behind Noah harmlessly. Noah ran towards Ezra and found his wand on the floor next to him.

He turned his torso around and raised the wand. "_Stupefy!_"

He didn't look long enough to check if he'd hit him. He held the wand with his teeth, hoisted Ezra up again and Apparated out of that damned Ministry.


	28. House Elves

_**Chapter 28 - House Elves**_

**Josiah, Alisa, and Daniella landed in a graceless thump in the back lawn of Alisa's house; he quickly scrambled to his knees, bending over Alisa and taking out his wand. He looked at Daniella, then around the yard, frantic.**

**"Where are they?" he asked breathlessly, but he looked back down at Alisa immediately. "Whatever Sabrina did to her, it's not visible," he said with a hint of desperation. "I have no way of knowing… it was nonverbal, it could have been anything…"**

**He inspected Alisa critically; the veins around her arms and neck were slowly turning dark and spidery. Her lips were turning blue…**

**Gritting his teeth, he flicked his wand and muttered several things in very quick succession, concentrating heavily. Slowly, so slowly, the darkness in her veins began to recede… it kept receding until it disappeared, but Alisa didn't open her eyes. He stepped back, shaking his head.**

**"It's all I can do with a wand," he murmured, looking worried. "The rest will have to be a potion of some sort, but we don't have that many ingredients…"**

**There was a loud crack, and Noah appeared beside them, carrying Ezra. Josiah studied the other boy for only a moment before looking harshly up at Noah.**

**"What kept you?!" he asked severely, gently lifting Alisa up again. Despite himself, though, he was filled with relief. As long as they were together, it would be okay… he had to believe that. "Come on, we have to get them in the house…"**

* * *

Daniella looked up, barely aware of her surroundings, scanning the landscape for Noah and Ezra. "I don't know…" she mumbled, concerned.

She bit her lower lip to keep from distracting Jo while he worked, but it was hard to stay still. "They should be here already!" She looked down at Alisa, at Jo's worried words. "I can make any potion you need. Between Ezra and me, we probably have the ingredients…"

She looked around again, growing uneasy. "Maybe we should go back!"

The loud crack made her jump, startled, and she automatically raised her wand. The stress of the last few hours was starting to take its toll, but when she saw who it was, she ran to help Noah.

Noah, who was limping a bit from the jinx, eased his grip on Ezra. He slid down some, and he huffed, trying to bring him up again. "Can you please be angry with me later?" He panted, starting towards the house. "They did something to him, he's not responding…"

* * *

**Josiah cradled Alisa in both arms; now that he wasn't trying to run, she was light enough for him to carry. He hoisted her up and carried her for a few meters, reaching the door before Noah. He slid it back with some difficulty.**

**"It's a botched Memory Charm," Jo called over his shoulder in a worried tone. "We covered them in our final Charms exam, but I've never seen a case that bad… I'm not sure if…" He rested Alisa gently on the squashy couch, looked up at the others, and shut his mouth promptly.**

**There wasn't any need to worry them. Perhaps he could…**

**"Stay near Alisa," he told Noah lightly, shaking his wand until the tip shined brightly. He pointed the light directly in Ezra's eyes; they dilated instantly. He shook the light away and put two fingers on the slender boy's wrist.**

**"His pulse is fine," he told Daniella, trying to comfort her. "His body is responding normally. This sort of thing only happens when two Memory Charms affect the same portion of memory; if someone tries to erase something that's already been modified, for example, or tries to erase something so omnipresent that the two inevitably…"**

**He stopped, his eyes widening in realization. Then, he looked down at the other boy, biting his lip anxiously. He brushed a few hairs away from Ezra's forehead.**

**"I think I can restore them," he said quietly to Dan. "But it will bring back everything. I can't control that."**

* * *

Noah nodded and stood by Alisa's couch, watching over her closely, looking for any change in her current condition. The girl had fought with such determination, more than he'd ever seen in most Gryffindors. He glanced over at the others when Jo explained Ezra's situation to Dan.

Daniella looked from Ezra's pale face to Jo, trying to understand what he was telling her. It was her fault then, that he was like that. Because of what she'd done so long ago she'd never thought of it again… because she'd never fixed what she'd done, he may never be himself again. for a moment, she thought she was going to be ill.

"Fix him…" she murmured, the guilt clogging her throat. "Please, Jo, no matter what, can you fix him? Just… just do what you can…"

* * *

**Jo looked at Dan for a long time, then furrowed his eyebrows in determination and nodded once.**

**"Okay," he said, softly.**

**He held his wand in one hand, trying desperately not to let it shake too much. With his other hand, he spread his fingers, placing two of them gently on Ezra's temple. The other boy didn't flinch; Josiah tightened his grip and closed his eyes.**

**The spell was nonverbal, but slowly, Josiah's wand began to glow a faint blue-white that grew brighter by the moment. As it got brighter, small strands of light began to shoot off of it and attach themselves to Ezra's temples; where they touched, they quickly disappeared into his skin. This went on for several moments, until the strands were numerous and the entire room was glowing faintly blue.**

**When the strands stopped, Josiah opened his eyes.**

**Ezra blinked.**

**"Welcome back," Jo said evenly, and Ezra stirred more noticeably, furrowing his eyebrows and twitching his fingers. Slowly, he raised a hand to his head. "Can you hear me?"**

**Ezra nodded.**

**"What's your name?" Josiah pressed, and Ezra furrowed his eyebrows again.**

**"Ezra Greengrass," he replied, somewhat flatly.**

**"What's my name?"**

**"Josiah Johnston. My head… Merlin's beard."**

**"Yes, I suppose that's to be expected," Jo said, not unkindly. "I'm sure Daniella can make you a potion in a moment."**

**At these words, Ezra's eyes opened wide; he gripped the edges of the armchair he was awkwardly splayed on, trying to sit up.**

**"Daniella?" he asked frantically, searching the room. He finally found her and, with visible relief, slumped back. "I thought… I was…" he squinted, trying to remember. "My father…"**

**Just then, there was a loud crack; Jo drew his wand, horribly startled. A small being with very large ears and giant, watery blue eyes disarmed him. His wand fell on the other side of the room with a clatter.**

**"I am here for Master Ezra," said the elf in a squeaky voice.**

* * *

Daniella watched as closely as she could without touching Jo or disturbing his work; she barely dared to breathe during that process. She could still hear his father's voice as he took Ezra's memories, his spirit, everything that made him who he was away.

What if he never remembered again? Not her, or his magic, his life…?

She inched forward but Jo was still looking at him closely. When he said her name, though, she kneeled on the side of his chair, cupping his face with one shaky hand, not sure if she was crying or laughing anymore. "Ezra…" She started, but the loud crack interrupted her.

She looked in its direction, vaguely aware that the lack of a proper reaction on her part was a strong sign that she was exhausted; or maybe she was just in shock.

"Pokey?" She looked at Ezra's house-elf confusedly. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

**Ezra placed his hand over Daniella's, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling. He had the worst headache he'd ever had in his life, and he had no idea where he was, but for now…**

**The crack gave him a start and made his head throb painfully. He winced, then squinted at his house elf. It was the change in the way she addressed him, however, that caught him off guard.**

**"Master Ezra?" Ezra repeated, confused. The elves had never called him anything other than Young Master; his father was Master. His father had always been Master.**

**Pokey's eyes welled up with tears; Josiah looked from the elf and then to Daniella, looking helpless.**

**"Master Ezra," Pokey confirmed, hanging her head. "Pokey is sworn to serve the heir of the noble house of Greengrass. Pokey will always serve Master Ezra, just as Pokey's mother, and Pokey's mother's mother, and…"**

**Ezra pulled his hand away slowly from Daniella's, looking momentarily distant.**

**"My parents…?" he asked, slowly. A large, fat tear rolled down Pokey's cheek. Then, she began to sob.**

**"Pokey is so sorry, Master Ezra, Pokey is so, so sorry!" The small elf flung herself at Ezra, who patted her gingerly, albeit dazedly, on the back.**

* * *

Daniella leaned back on her knees. Pokey had gotten there so quickly, no one had had time to tell Ezra what had happened, and now she wasn't sure how to ease the news. To be honest, she suspected, but wasn't entirely sure how he'd react.

She let him hold Pokey for a while, then cleared her throat. "Ezra…" she called softly. "After they erased all your memories, they…" she sighed and pressed two fingers between her eyes.

"I attacked them, I'm not sure how, because I didn't have my wand, but your father turned against me and he was going to kill me and Logan…" she paused then, finally taking a moment to breathe. She studied his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction. "Logan killed your father. Then, they," she gestured to Jo and Noah, who was looking as the scene unfolded still at Alisa's side, "showed up and… well, your mother died too."

She looked at him, not sure what else to say. That she was sorry? After seeing what they'd done to him in that room, she didn't think she could say the words. She brought her hand to his hair, brushing it back softly instead, trying to offer comfort.

* * *

**Ezra was quiet for a long, long time after Daniella finished talking. He was acutely aware of the fact that everyone who was conscious was looking at him intently. He looked down at his hands, trying to absorb the news despite the pounding of his head.**

**"Then…" he trailed off, speaking quietly. "The house?"**

**Pokey's watery eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.**

**"Master Ezra will come home now? Oh, Pokey has so missed Master Ezra! The others will be so glad that Master Ezra is back home!"**

**Ezra nodded slowly, not entirely sure why he was nodding.**

**"Yes, we'll all go to the house," he said finally, almost a whisper. "Pokey, please take Masters Ledger and Johnston and their guest to the house. Mistress Daniella and I will wait here for you."**

**Pokey nodded quickly again. She summoned Josiah's wand, handed it to him, and offered Josiah and Noah her fingers of one hand. With the other hand, she grabbed Alisa.**

**"Please grab on, Masters Ledger and Johnston! Pokey will take you to the Greengrass estate."**

* * *

Noah looked a bit dazed at the tiny hand the elf was holding up. _Master_ Ledger?! Convinced he couldn't have any more surprises that day, he took one of Pokey's fingers, giving Jo a 'what the hell is going on' look.

Daniella wiped her eyes as best she could and looked back at Ezra. "How are you feeling?" She asked softly.

* * *

**Pokey disappeared with the others, and Ezra looked at Daniella again, then away. He wasn't sad, of that he was certain; there was a hole, though, where everything familiar had been just a few days ago and was now gone.**

**"I'm okay," he said softly, clearing his throat. He rubbed at his nose, then at his forehead. "My head hurts," he added, letting his eyes close for a moment. He wasn't sure that he could speak in complete sentences at the moment.**

**He did, however, squeeze her hand.**

**"Oh," he said, as though he'd just remembered something. He looked down at his hand, pulling his ring off with difficulty. He slid it back onto her finger, smiling a small, warm smile. "I believe this is yours, Mistress Daniella," he murmured with a poor attempt at humor.**

**Pokey cracked back into the den, then, and Ezra gave her his hand. He realized a moment later that he probably should have stood up first; when they arrived in the opulent front hall of Greengrass Manor, he was still positioned awkwardly, except on the floor instead of an armchair.**

**With some difficulty, he pulled himself to his feet. When he looked up, he saw twenty pairs of elf eyes staring back at him, shining and ready for his orders.**

**"Pokey," Ezra murmured, softly.**

**"Master Ezra!" Pokey replied energetically.**

**"Please take… Miss Sparks…" Ezra motioned vaguely to Alisa. "To St. Mungo's. Make sure that she's admitted immediately. Don't leave her side until she's tended."**

**Pokey nodded her large head so hard that her ears flopped comically. She took hold of Alisa and, wasting no time, disappeared again with a crack.**

* * *

"I'll make you a potion," Daniella said softly.

She looked at the ring he slipped back into her finger, then curled her fingers as if to keep it from leaving its place again. Tears welled up on her eyes once more, but she blinked them away. She needed to be strong for him, just a while longer. Then, maybe she could sleep for a hundred years. And after that, she could think of all the guilt that was weighing on her shoulders.

When Pokey Apparated them into the mansion, Daniella looked at the place where her life had changed completely, not sure how to feel about all that. It was all happening too fast to make sense. She just wanted it to stop; everything, to just pause so she could breathe and think properly again.

"Ezra needs to rest," she said to no one in particular. "And I need a place to make a potion."

* * *

**Josiah looked around the front hall, completely awestruck. That one room alone was likely bigger than his entire house; he looked up at Noah, mouthing wordlessly.**

**"Merlin," he managed finally, looking around at the passel of house elves. "It's like a castle. Where are we…?"**

**He looked round at Ezra, who was smirking, although faintly. He had one hand on his temple.**

**"London," he replied, his voice much more gentle than usual. Once Daniella spoke, the house elves began scurrying to work. One of them grabbed her by the hand, looking starry-eyed.**

**"Mistress Daniella, the potion-brewing room is this way," said a small male elf with impressive ear hair. He began tugging her down a long hallway to the left. The other elves gathered around Ezra, fussing. One of them had found some bruise paste and was dabbing efficiently at his eye. He shied away, feeling crowded.**

**"Master Ledger and Master Johnston will be shown to the east wing guest room," he said, and two elves snapped to attention. "And we'll be needing lunch… in the rooms today, I expect…"**

**Five more elves scurried off.**

**He gently picked up the elf who was dabbing at his eye and put her on the floor.**

**"I'm going to retire to my bedroom. When Mistress Daniella returns, please inform her of this. You are to take orders from the three of them as though they were my own orders, is that understood?"**

**The elves, who were too happy by far, beamed at him.**

**"Thank you," he said softly.**

* * *

Noah started to follow Jo and the two elves, then remembered something and turned on his heels. He caught up with Ezra and handed him his wand, after wiping it on his now partially ripped shirt (he hadn't changed yet after transforming back into himself). "Erm… if you find any teeth marks… well, sorry, but I was in a hurry."

Before Ezra could answer that, he turned around again and took off after Jo. There was so much luxury he felt a little uncomfortable. His parents had a nice house, by no means small, and they'd never had shortage of money, but this was so far above his head he was afraid to touch anything.

"How many times do you think we'll get lost in here?" He murmured after they had taken three turns, following the elves closely.

* * *

**Josiah looked up at the impossibly high ceilings, which were painted with impossibly intricate paintings of naked babies and magnificent wizards and flowers. He looked out of the enchanted windows at the bustling center of London.**

**"I think I'm already lost," Jo said meekly, looking back down the hallway they'd just come down. He couldn't even see the main hall anymore. "Merlin's pants. I'd known he was rich, but I hadn't known he was… y'know, rich-rich. Merlin, I feel like the Queen, God save her."**

**He hesitantly reached out his hand to a vase standing on a marble pedestal, but wimped out at the last moment and brought his hand back to his side.**

**"Merlin," he said again, awestruck. The small elf led them up several flights of stairs, down another long hallway, and to an ornate wooden door at the end of said hallway. She stopped and bowed.**

**"Your room, Master Johnston, Master Ledger," she said in a slightly muffled voice, on account of her face nearly touching the carpet. "If you should need anything from Pinky, anything at all, you only need call for Pinky."**

**Jo blinked, unsure of how to respond.**

**"Er… thank you very much, Pinky. You've been very helpful." The elf bowed further, and nearly toppled over.**

**"Master Johnston is very kind! Pinky is only doing her sworn duty as an elf of the noble house of Greengrass! Now that Master Johnston is living in the estate, Pinky will serve him until she dies!"**

**Josiah looked at Noah, feeling a bit awkward.**

**"Oh… well, really, thanks. Perhaps you should… go have a bite to eat?" he suggested, tentatively.**

**With a watery smile, the elf cracked away, presumably to the kitchen.**

* * *

Noah managed to keep a straight face, but his eyes widened a bit at the elf's words. They'd just somehow been handed a bunch of very tiny and disturbingly loyal servants, and he didn't think they could get rid of them that easily, if they wanted.

"Was she going to cry?!" Noah murmured, puzzled, when the elf disappeared. He shook his head and pushed the bedroom door open all the day. "Wow, this is huge!"

He stepped into the bedroom and felt unusually small. There were two doors on the opposite side of the room, to his right. He looked at the decoration without much interest, but his eyes lingered on the bed, which was probably as big as their entire bedroom in the cottage they'd been living in.

He walked over to explore behind the doors: one led to a giant closet – he wasn't sure he had owned enough clothes in his entire life to fill it – and the other led to a fancy bathroom with a large bathtub, a toilet, a double sink with a large mirror and even a bidet, all in marble.

He went back to the bedroom and looked at Jo, shaking his head. "I can't imagine leaving a place like this to go live in the woods…"

* * *

**"I reckon so," Josiah said feebly, following Noah closely into the room. He shut the door behind him, and, as he looked around, released a long, slow breath. "Noah, am I dreaming? I am, aren't I? Pinch me," he murmured, coming to stand in front of the massive bed. It was tall, coming up to his waist; he pushed on it with his hands and, with a bit of difficulty, hoisted himself up. He landed with a pillowy bounce.**

**Then, he looked down and realized that there had been a set of gold-trimmed wooden stairs tucked under the bed, likely for that very purpose.**

**"The bed has stairs," he hissed, as though this was the pinnacle of luxury. He might have cursed after, but he felt as though cursing in a bedroom that opulent would be a grave offense, like cursing in church.**

**He was lying on his back on the bed when Noah returned from his short exploration. He pondered his boyfriend's words with a heavy heart; they were only able to enjoy this luxury because, ultimately, Ezra's parents had died.**

**"Do you reckon he was close to them?" Jo asked suddenly, staring at the molded white ceiling. "His parents. I feel… I feel like we ought to do something, somehow…"**

* * *

Jo's expression sobered Noah up. He took off the clothes he had on, because they were very uncomfortable. And maybe partly because he wanted Jo to forget he'd gotten back late. He was a little self-conscious when he sat on the bed wearing only boxers, but the mattress was so comfortable he leaned back on his elbow, resting his head on his hand.

"I don't know… probably not. I mean, if he had to run away and if they did that to him, to separate him from Daniella…" he looked down at the fancy, soft fabric of the bedcover. "Maybe we should wait and ask her?"

* * *

**"Yeah," Jo said lightly, looking over at Noah and giving him a small smile. He shifted, bouncing all the way, and lifted his head to place a soft peck on Noah's lips. "You're forgiven, by the way," he whispered, bringing his lips around to one side of Noah's face and giving his ear a bit of a nibble.**

**Solemnity mostly forgotten, for now, he bounced off the bed and began to shed his clothes, too.**

**"I don't know about you, but I fancy a bath after all of that," he mumbled as his too-big uniform shirt fell to the floor. He then began working on his belt, looking up with feigned shyness. "This house is too big, I reckon. I'll get lost if I go outside, so…"**

**He grinned wickedly.**

**"Let's just stay in here until lunch, aye?"**

* * *

Noah's smirk was mischievous. "I'm glad. It's not like I go out looking for trouble, ya know? It just seems to find me."

He let Jo out of the bed reluctantly, but his smirk turned into a wide grin at his suggestion. "That sounds perfect," he said, following Jo into the bathroom to find out what they could do with that large tub.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella followed the elf silently, trying not to think too much of the only other time she'd been in that house; trying not to think much about anything, actually. But her brain was too tired to stop working, strange as it seemed.

"Weren't you the one at the bar, in the last Christmas party?" She asked, thinking she remembered the little elf from somewhere. "What's your name?"

* * *

**The elderly elf looked back at Daniella, his eyes misting at the fact that she remembered him at all.**

**"I am called Binky, Mistress," the elf croaked with a slight bow. "Binky is honored that Mistress remembers him. Binky has served drinks at many Christmas parties, yes. It has been Binky's job for sixty years, now. Binky has been serving the drinks since the late Master Leon was still a Young Master in diapers, yes… yes, Binky remembers well…"**

**The elf stopped in front of a large, slightly rounded door at the end of a short hallway. He bowed.**

**"The potion-brewing room, Mistress," he said formally. "If Mistress should need anything, Mistress need only to say so. Binky will wait here for Mistress."**

* * *

"Well, Binky, I owe you a thank you for all the Firewhiskey you served me that night," Daniella said solemnly, smiling faintly, and trying not to think of Ezra's father in diapers. It was just too disturbing, considering her feelings towards a man who wasn't even present anymore.

They came to a stop in front of a door she remembered vaguely from when Ezra had given her a tour around the house. "Thank you, Binky. I'll only take a few minutes."

She entered the room and closed the door behind her, grateful for those few minutes alone. She leaned against the door and rubbed her face. Feeling the warm metal of the emerald ring on her finger, she studied it.

She had to tell Ezra… she had to tell him it was her fault he'd almost lost everything he was. That is, if he hadn't realized it himself by now. And now he'd lost his parents, also because of her. Granted, they had never offered him any love, but still, they were his parents.

Sighing loudly, she pushed herself off of the door and started searching the cabinets and containers for the ingredients she'd need, all the while telling herself that he would still love her after she told him. She had to believe he would forgive her or she wouldn't have anything left.

She chopped, mixed and brewed absentmindedly, but she couldn't help feeling a shred of envy as she found the most amazing ingredients stored there. The little corner she'd set in her bedroom to study her potions was a joke compared to that room.

After the potion boiled for five minutes, she added a little bit of mint, since it helped clear the airways and gave the brew a nicer flavor. She poured some into a mug, set the container and the mug on a small silver platter and walked out of the room, finding Binky still waiting patiently outside.

"Where is Master Ezra, Binky?" She asked, although she could guess.

* * *

**Binky bowed as soon as Daniella entered the hallway again, driven by reflex.**

**"Master Ezra has retired to his suite on the third floor, Mistress, and has told Binky that only Mistress may enter. However, if Mistress should need Binky to show her the way, Binky is more than happy to serve."**

* * *

Daniella pondered, looking at the hallway. She thought she still remembered the way, but the truth was, she'd been fairly tipsy that night, at the party. "Why don't you show me the way, just this one time?" she asked with a hint of amusement. "I'm sure I'll remember the next time."

* * *

**Binky tried to bow further, but his elderly elf knees protested, and so he only managed to wobble a bit.**

**"Binky would be honored," he croaked. He began walking in the direction they'd come, down the long hallway and into the main hall. Then, with difficulty, he began climbing the stairs. The stairwell arced majestically in half-spirals that were visible all the way up from the ground floor; they passed one floor, then two, and came to rest at the very top floor, where the stairs ended. It was darker at the top, and much more homely than the rest of the manor; despite being regularly cleaned by a team of house elves, it was not completely unbelievable that a teenage boy had once lived there.**

**Binky stopped at the door to Ezra's bedroom, bowing again.**

**"Binky will leave the Master and Mistress alone now," said the elf nobly. "Binky will now go downstairs to the kitchen and oversee the preparations for lunch and dinner. As always, should Mistress need anything, Mistress need only call…"**

* * *

Daniella looked at Binky solemnly, pondering if she should ask the elf to stop bowing. She remembered how upset they seemed to get when Ezra was nice to them, though, so she said only, "Thank you, Binky. I will remember."

She looked at the door in front of her. That room she remembered all too well. Letting out a pained sigh, she gave the door a single knock, then slowly pushed it open.

* * *

**Ezra didn't look up at the knock or the opening of the door; he had ordered that only Daniella was to come into his room, so he knew that it couldn't be anyone else.**

**He had undressed with some difficulty, due mostly to being wickedly sore. His shirt and trousers and the plain black robe lay in a pile on the rug-covered wood floor. Ezra himself was curled up in two layers of blanket, laying on his side and staring blankly at the wall.**

**His parents were dead. He was Master of the house.**

**No matter how many times he repeated it to himself in his mind, his psyche rejected the premise. He knew, in his heart, that his parents had never loved him. He had been merely a tool for them, an extension of their will. He had been raised by house elves, and indeed, had loved Pokey more than he had ever considered loving his own mother.**

**He also knew that the only reason the house belonged to him now was because they hadn't had time to write him out of their will.**

**He looked up, finally, slowly, searching Daniella's eyes.**

**"Hi," he said softly, unsure of what else he could say.**

* * *

Daniella returned Ezra's look, forgetting all the things she thought might be the right thing to say. What could she possibly say that would ease any of the torturing he'd gone through over the last few hours, physical and mental?

She walked up to the bed and set the platter on his bedside table. She took the smoking mug and offered it to him. "This will help with the headache."

She sat on the edge of the bed, wanting to touch him, wanting to make sure he didn't have any injuries he hadn't shown anyone, but she restrained herself. He didn't like to look vulnerable, didn't like to talk about his feelings, so she wasn't sure how to approach the subject of his parents.

"Are you alright?" She asked, finally.

* * *

**Ezra sat up with some difficulty, freeing his torso from the blankets and exposing his bare chest. He took the mug gratefully, holding it with both hands and blowing on it cautiously before taking a long, weary sip.**

**"Thank you," he murmured, holding the mug close and staring into its contents. The bed dipped slightly as she sat on its edge; the potion inside the mug sloshed gently. He felt the agonizing grip of pain around his mind begin to recede, slowly.**

**In response to her question, he merely nodded.**

**A few beats of silence passed between them.**

**"Are you?" he asked in return, looking up at her with a worry-tinged look. If she wasn't alright, he surely wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He paused, then spoke again. "I'm sorry that I… couldn't do anything."**

* * *

Daniella shook her head dismissively. "Yes, I am." She shrugged, looking away. "I wasn't really the target, I was there just to keep you under control, I guess."

She glanced at him, but quickly looked away. As many years as she lived, she would never forget the look in his eyes right before his father… she closed her eyes. "Ezra, we need to talk. You're not going to like it, so we can talk about it after you get some rest, if you want." She licked her lips nervously and caressed the fabric of the covers distractedly. "I can take care of any preparations you think are necessary first," she added, deflecting the subject. "Anything you want…"

* * *

**Ezra looked up at her, concern lining his furrowed brows. He drained the rest of the mug's contents, relishing the sweet taste of the mint as it went down. He closed his eyes.**

**"Tell me," he murmured quietly, finding her hand on the covers without seeing it. "Just tell me, Daniella."**

**It wasn't as though his day could get any worse, he thought, but didn't say. With a pang, he began to worry; was his inability to rescue them from that situation going to be a factor in whether she wanted to marry him? Was it something else about his parents, or something about the others…?**

* * *

Daniella linked her fingers with his instantly. How could she start explaining that mess? "It was all my fault…" she murmured after a long silence. "That you reacted so severely to your father's curse. That you may have never recovered…"

She tried to swallow the knot of guilt in her throat and forced herself to meet his eyes. "In the beginning of our last year in Hogwarts, when Logan told you to spy on me… well, I always knew. Jo told me about Logan's threats to his family if he didn't stop seeing me. But I was selfish, I didn't want to stop seeing him, so we figured out a way to talk to each other until I could find out who my spies were. Then, you came to my compartment in the train, and I knew why you'd gone to talk to me."

She paused then and studied their hands. "Do you remember our first Potions class, that year?"

* * *

**"Don't be absurd," Ezra said, after the words had barely had time to leave her lips. "None of that could have possibly been your fault, Daniella." He shook his head, squeezing her hand. It wasn't until she continued speaking, however, that his heart skipped a beat.**

**She'd always known? But, then, that shouldn't come as a surprise to him, he thought absentmindedly. She was so sharp, so incredibly gifted… and it only stood to reason that Johnston would have wanted to protect her. Indeed, now that he looked back on it, he was glad that it had happened that way…**

**"Our first class?" he repeated, trying to think back. It seemed like such a long time ago now that the edges of his memory were slightly blurred, even though they'd been fully restored. "Yes, I believe so. I was… well, I was jealous," he admitted with a twinge of embarrassment. "I was jealous because…"**

**The events played in his mind like a movie reel, and suddenly, his eyes widened.**

**"Because you were partnered with Johnston," he murmured, furrowing his eyebrows. "You'd chosen him over me, and… I was jealous… and then…"**

* * *

Daniella exhaled softly as she nodded at his words. "And then we got out of class and I stayed behind… with you. Remember?"

Each word she said now made her heart ache; it was hard to keep looking at him as she progressed with the story, but for better or worse, she wanted to know what his beautiful dark eyes showed of his feelings. "You weren't feeling very well, and after that class we had Herbology, and I had to walk you to the Hospital Wing…"

She closed her eyes for a moment, hesitating before admitting what she'd done. "I went with you, because I had just changed your memory of that Potions class, so you didn't remember I'd been with Jo and I was afraid I had messed up the spell," she murmured at last, searching his eyes once more; her hand was shaking in his, but she didn't pull away.

* * *

**Ezra nodded, remembering clearly now.**

**"Yes," he murmured. "Yes, I remember." He was silent for a few moments, feeling pensive; he couldn't understand why she would bring something like this up now. It had happened so long ago… but her hand was shaking and he gave it another comforting squeeze.**

**A Memory Charm. Yes, it made sense… he furrowed his eyebrows a bit, thinking about the repercussions of that particular action. It was possible that he was too tired to be angry, but somehow, he didn't feel anything. Indeed, he admitted to himself, wouldn't he have done the same?**

**Could she really have trusted him then? He wasn't sure that he could say, with confidence, that she had reason to. And that hurt him more than anything.**

**He looked up, giving her a small, warm smile.**

**He shook his head.**

**"I don't see what it has to do with what happened today," he murmured, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. "But thank you for being honest with me."**

* * *

Daniella tried to smile, but all she managed was a pained lip twitch. "When we brought you back today, Jo said… You weren't aware of anything around you, you were barely responsive and Jo said that only happens when two Memory Charms were used affecting the same portion of memory. I think your parents wanted to erase everything that happened since we started talking to each other, and…" Her voice broke.

"I was just trying to protect Jo's family from Logan, I never thought… I couldn't let myself trust you. I didn't think…" She closed her fingers around his more tightly. "We played each other for weeks and then it wasn't a game anymore, and I really liked you, but I never undid it, never told you anything. And earlier today… Jo wasn't sure he could bring your memories back. He didn't say, but I could see it in his eyes. How could I forgive myself if you had lost everything because of me?!" She stopped talking, breathing more heavily. She searched his eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

* * *

**Ezra listened patiently, realizing that this moment, this confession, meant much more for her well-being than for his. With striking clarity, he could remember the very moment when his father had begun to erase his memories - the only thing that he remembered before he had woken up in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by his friends. That look in her eyes… the feeling of knowing that he wouldn't remember her…**

**He eased his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. He rested his forehead against hers as she continued to talk in a watery, guilt-laden voice.**

**When he pulled away, he brushed her hair away from her face with one hand; it was still red, but that didn't matter to him.**

**"You were right not to trust me," he said seriously. "Who knows what I would have done? Even I can't know. I was a different person then, and Johnston's life had little or no value to me. There's no telling what might have happened if you hadn't done what you did. It was only after I fell in love with you that I…" he trailed off, shaking his head.**

**"It was my father's fault, not yours. You did it to protect, because you had love in your heart - my father… my father did it only to hurt me, only for his own gain. If what you say is true, and his Charm might have left me like that, then all the better. If they had taken me… I wouldn't have wanted to know a life without you, Daniella. I would rather be an empty shell, or be kissed by a Dementor, or be dead."**

**He sighed.**

**"Come here," he murmured, wrapping her up in his arms again. He kissed the top of her head once, twice. "Just be near to me and hush, now. That's all I want at the moment."**

* * *

Daniella wiped a stubborn tear off her face. When had she become such a crybaby?! She must be more exhausted than she'd thought. She leaned against him, rested her head on his bare chest, closing her eyes blissfully at the sound of his heartbeat.

She didn't want to think of what her life would be like, if they had taken him, at all. "I love you so much," she said into his chest, shifting on the bed to lay with him.

Just when she was starting to drift off to sleep, they heard a respectful, light knock on the door. "Maybe it's our lunch…" She said, not really wanting to leave the bed. "Do you have your wand?"

* * *

**"I love you too," he whispered, smiling into her still-ginger hair. He was growing fond of it, really… it rather suited her temper. He looked up at the knock on the door, blinking twice. He'd forgotten that he'd ordered lunch to the rooms - he'd also forgotten, yet again, that he was the Master of the house now. After living in the woods for so long, it was like being in paradise.**

**"My wand?" he asked, before rifling around on the side table. He produced it, smiling. "Yes, Ledger gave it back to me."**

**He tucked it behind his ear protectively.**

**"You may come in," he said, and the door opened immediately. Binky and another, younger elf named Ribbon slid a wheeled lunch cart into the room. Binky bowed and lifted the ornate silver cover off of the platter, revealing a large selection of sandwiches as well as a fresh fruit salad, several pieces of cheese, and two thin slices of chocolate cake.**

**"Thank you, Binky, Ribbon," Ezra murmured, smiling. "That does look delicious. Have the others been served?" Binky nodded his great head.**

**"Yes sir, Master Ezra, sir, Pinky took Master Ledger and Master Johnston their lunch just a moment ago," he croaked happily, bowing again for no real reason other than, Ezra suspected, he liked doing it.**

**"Good. Very good. Well done," he praised them. Ribbon looked up at Ezra adoringly. "By the way, Binky," he said offhandedly, picking a watercress sandwich off of the platter gingerly. "What do you know of… pizza?"**

**"Pizza, sir?" Binky said, blinking confusedly. "Binky does not know anything about pizza, Master Ezra, sir. What is a pizza, if Binky may so inquire?"**

**"It's… an Italian delicacy," Ezra said carefully, chewing. Binky nodded his acknowledgement. "It's a sort of open faced pie… with bread dough, and tomato sauce, and cheese, and… Daniella, help me explain to them," Ezra mumbled, mouth full.**

* * *

Daniella looked at the lunch cart that seemed to move on its own for a few moments, until the house-elves came into their line of sight. She bit the inside of her lip at all the bowing going on. That was going to take some getting used to.

She reached for a sandwich, her stomach giving a thankful growl as she bit into it. She looked up at Ezra as he explained. For someone who had only eaten it once, and grudgingly, he was incredibly well informed about it.

She chuckled, swallowed as gracefully as she could manage and said, "Well, other than the things you said, you can put pretty much anything you wish on it. That's the beauty of pizza. Personally, my favorite has cheese, bacon and mushrooms. But there are many interesting combinations," she added, after she noticed the look of intense concentration on the elves large eyes.

"Hmm, Binky," she called after a moment's thought, "Have you ever planned a wedding?"

* * *

**Binky nodded seriously, clearly paying incredible attention to everything that Ezra and Daniella had to say about the Italian delicacy that was pizza.**

**"Do you think we might have it for dinner?" he asked, and Binky nodded again, even more seriously.**

**"Binky will give the pizza his absolute best attempt, Master Ezra, sir! If Binky can't make a pizza for Master Ezra, then Binky will… Binky will… cut off his own ears and use them as washrags, Master Ezra, sir…"**

**Ezra grimaced.**

**"No, Binky, that won't be necessary," he said, not unkindly. "Just give it your best go. That's all I ask." The elf bowed. It was then that Daniella brought up weddings, and Binky froze in his bow for a moment, as though stuck.**

**"Wedding?" he croaked, still bent over.**

**"Wedding?!" squeaked Ribbon, putting both of her small hands over her mouth. Her eyes began to water with happiness.**

**"Oh dear," Ezra said lightly, hearing more tiny feet running down the hallway.**

**"Wedding?" said another elf, still holding a dusting rag as she poked her head in the door.**

**"I was going to tell you all at once, but I suppose…" Ezra sighed, smiling. "Yes, I've proposed to Mistress Daniella, and she's accepted me. We'll be getting married."**

**"Wedding!" shrieked Ribbon, before promptly breaking down into happy tears.**

* * *

Daniella realized a second too late that maybe that hadn't been a very good idea. When the third elf peeked through the door, she let out a soft sigh. "Uh oh… Sorry," she whispered to Ezra, smiling awkwardly at all the elves now looking at her.

"So, huh… I'll talk to you later about it, Binky. We'll have some details to take care of, but there will be plenty of time for that." She looked at the crib that belonged to Pokey, then back at Ezra. "Erm, we'd like to tell Pokey ourselves, though."

* * *

**Binky was still bowed; Ezra worried momentarily that he was stuck there. Just then, though, he straightened. His eyes were misty. Ezra smiled at him warmly.**

**"Binky would be honored to help Master Ezra and Mistress Daniella plan their wedding," he said, nodding. "Binky will start preparing right away."**

**"Ribbon will help!" said Ribbon enthusiastically.**

**"Well, good," Ezra murmured, nodding. "Yes, that's fine. And we would… like to tell Pokey ourselves," he said, looking at Daniella and nodding. "When she returns, could you direct her to me?"**

**"Of course, Master Ezra, sir," Binky said, bowing. "Binky and Ribbon will leave now so that Master and Mistress can enjoy their lunch. Come, Ribbon," said Binky, tugging on the smaller elf's toga, which she was currently using as a handkerchief.**

**"Ribbon is so happy," she wailed, following Binky out the door, which shut with a click. Her sniffles could be heard growing further away as she walked down the hallway.**

**"Well," said Ezra, smirking amusedly. "That should be a shock for them downstairs." He picked up another sandwich and a small cup of fruit salad, placing them awkwardly on his lap.**

* * *

"I didn't know they would react quite that… strongly," Daniella said apologetically. She rested her head on Ezra's shoulder and took a strawberry from his fruit cup. "You should invite Pokey. As a guest, I mean, not a servant. And the others too, if you want," she said quietly. "Who else do you want to invite?"

* * *

**Ezra laughed good-naturedly, polishing off his second sandwich and going back for another; this time, pimento cheese. He was starved.**

**"No, that's alright. They would have reacted just as strongly if I'd told them," he murmured, picking up a few blueberries to chew before starting his third sandwich. He looked over at her, brushing a bit of cheese from the side of his mouth. He'd been planning on inviting all of the house elves, of course, as soon as he'd known that the house was his. He nodded, though, taking another bite of sandwich.**

**"No one else," he murmured, shrugging. "They raised me, they played with me, they dressed me, they fed me… they were my parents, my best friends… my siblings, in a rather strange way," he murmured, pondering this. "And we both know I haven't got any other friends, save for you and… the others."**

**He motioned vaguely to the east.**

**He smiled at her warmly.**

**"If you don't mind all of them being there, of course. I do have to warn you in advance… it might get a bit noisy," he said apologetically.**

* * *

Daniella nodded slowly. There was really nothing she could say about that, and she didn't want to think about anything else sad today.

She snorted softly. "Well, Jo will have company in the crying," she murmured, playfully. She looked at the distance, chewing on her third sandwich thoughtfully. "I don't really have anyone else either. But I would like to invite Jo's family, if that's ok with you. They were the only glimpse of a real, proper and normal family I've had my whole life. I really like them a lot."

* * *

**Ezra smirked at this, polishing off sandwich number three and honing in on his fruit salad in earnest. He pulled out the melon pieces with his fingers, lifting the food to his mouth and relishing it. He caught Daniella's eyes, then, and smiled with a twinge of embarrassment.**

**He'd changed a lot since he'd been here last, he realized suddenly.**

**"Yes, of course," he said, after a moment. "We can have them stay a while. The elves will be delighted to have the company, and it isn't as if we're short on the space."**

**He chewed while he thought.**

**"Of course, now that I'm Master of the house…" he trailed off, uncertain as to how to begin. "Well, it changes things rather a lot, as you might expect. It means I've inherited the fortune, for starters."**

**He looked at Daniella, studying her reaction carefully.**

**"And the vacation home in France, as well as the beach cottage in Spain... if you should like to get married somewhere nice, then… well, now I can afford it," he said quietly, fidgeting with the edge of his blanket. "Of course, not that it matters where," he added hurriedly.**

* * *

Daniella grinned. There was something very sexy about him eating with his hands that she couldn't explain. She wiped it off gingerly with a finger, but her grin turned into a restrained laughter as she thought of Ezra being in the same room as Pea.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, well, I hope you remember you said that when you meet Pearl," she shook her head, amused.

The grin turned into a jaw drop as Ezra enumerated his newly acquired properties. Suddenly, she was very glad she wasn't standing, because the idea of owning all those places made her a little dizzy. She was silent for a few minutes, overwhelmed.

"I didn't…" she fell silent again. She met Ezra's eyes and shrugged. "I still want a small wedding, just us and our friends. I don't care about luxurious decorations, or fancy French dresses, or…" she frowned thoughtfully, "well, I'd like fancy food, but that's just me," she finished with a smirk.

* * *

**"Pearl?" Ezra asked, momentarily confused. Daniella seemed happy about the idea, though, so he smiled, too. "I hope they don't still think that I tried to set their town on fire," he murmured absentmindedly, furrowing his eyebrows.**

**She grew quiet, and Ezra looked over, worried.**

**"Have I said something?" he asked, perturbed. "Please don't think that I… that is, I'm perfectly happy to have a wedding any place, at any time," he finished, rather desperately. He didn't want Daniella to think that he'd suddenly changed just because he'd come into his family's money again.**

**He nodded understandingly as she talked about a small, cozy wedding. They agreed, then.**

**"Well, that's settled," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "We can tie the knot in our pajamas if you like. Very fashionable. And speaking of fancy food," he said seriously, rolling the lunch cart closer to the bed. "I think I'll have my cake now, what about you?"**

**He offered her a plate and a small silver dessert fork.**

* * *

"I'm sure they don't think that. They're lovely people, I think you'll like them," Daniella said lightly.

"It's fine," she said to ease his mind. "It's just… a lot to adjust to. Barely a day ago, we had nothing. And I didn't need any of this, but if we've got it, we might as well make the most out of it. Maybe we could go to Spain on our honeymoon," she suggested, kissing him lightly. "I've never been there."

"But I don't think we could get away with getting married in our pajamas," she said. "You know, Jo would be upset," she said solemnly, amused to put the blame on her friend.

She readjusted so she could use both hands and took the cake, glad to see it was a thin slice. "Thanks, but only a bit. I do want to look nice and slim. I have my vanity, you know? Sometimes."


	29. The Basement

_**Chapter 29 - The Basement**_

A few hours later, after a rather large meal and rest, Noah and Jo had decided to explore the house on their own. Noah's initial curiosity had slowly started to fade after the tenth room, when they found the lift. Of course they had to see what else they could find. They pressed the button labelled '1B'.

Noah took a step out of the lift but immediately stopped, his jaw dropping nearly to his knees.

* * *

**The doors slid open, and Josiah put an arm in front of his eyes, squinting a bit.**

**Apparently, they kept the sun in their basement. He followed Noah out of the lift and stepped immediately on something soft and pillowy. Jo looked down.**

**It was grass.**

**He was quiet for a long, long time. Then, he looked up again. They were in what appeared to be a walled-off garden, complete with a large oak tree, a small pond with a fountain in the center, and several benches along a worn cobble path. The flowers were in bloom in all manner of majestic pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges; Josiah had the feeling that, here, the flowers were always in bloom.**

**Further beyond the garden, there was what appeared to be a large, raised open field. On second glance, he would recognize those ring-posts anywhere.**

**"Oh, bloody hell," he said, raising his eyebrows. "You've got to be shitting me. All that time, and Greengrass has gone and had a bloody Quidditch field in his basement? Isn't that the kind of thing you mention when you get to know someone?"**

* * *

Noah could only stare at the sight in front of him. "It's bloody sunny in here!" His voice was slightly higher-pitched than usual.

He took a moment to control himself, taking a couple steps further into the garden. He followed Jo's gaze… and swore under his breath.

"Sweet Merlin's freaking broomstick!" His eyes nearly popped out and he felt a deep pang of envy and an unreasonable amount of excitement. "He has a Quidditch field…" He looked at Jo. "He has a freaking. _Quidditch_. Field." He rubbed his hand over his face, not sure if he was annoyed or amused. "And to think I've been teaching him how to fly in the middle of the woods…"

* * *

**"Yes, it is," Jo murmured, looking up at the sky too. The fake clouds floated by gently, propelled by an equally fake, but no less refreshing, charmed breeze. "Even I can't cast an Atmospheric Charm this good. This level of work…" he trailed off, awe apparent in his voice.**

**It wasn't until Noah started talking about Merlin's broomstick that the spell was broken, and Jo giggled so hard that it ended with a bit of a snort.**

**"Come on," he said, offering Noah his hand. "Take your time through the garden, though. No rushing straight to the goalposts. That's not romantic."**

* * *

Noah hadn't realized he'd started moving towards the field until Jo offered his hand. "Well…" he started, but found nothing he could say to Jo's commentary.

His ears flushed red as he tried to ease his excitement. He hadn't been in a field in forever, but he composed a properly sheepish smile and took his boyfriend's hand. "Alright… I can be romantic," he murmured.

He looked around, trying to think of something Jo might find romantic. This had always been his weakness, though. Truly, he was a big child at heart, and the kind of subtle little somethings Jo probably expected looked to Noah a little cheesy and made him feel awkward. Especially if he did it wrong.

They approached the large oak tree. "Hmm, do you want to…" he started, smiling playfully hoping that would make it less awkward if that hadn't been what Jo had meant, "carve our names on that tree or something?"

* * *

**Jo grinned and, slowly, began to lead Noah down the cobble path through the garden. It was really very beautiful; even more beautiful, perhaps, because it was the first time they'd been able to really relax in a long, long while. He looked up at the tree, then back to Noah, giggling.**

**"Is that really okay?" he asked, still laughing. He gave Noah's hand a reassuring squeeze, then reached over and grabbed his other hand, so that they were facing each other. He looked up and smiled.**

**"Noah," he began slowly. "We've been dating for ages. You can relax a little, you know. You don't need to have the first date jitters every date, aye?"**

**He leaned forward and planted a loud kiss on his boyfriend's cheek. Then, he turned to look at the small pond with the fountain.**

**"Oh bother, they've even got a bunch of wee fish," Jo said, grinning and putting his hands on his knees so that he could get a better look at the spotted koi swimming about in the gently rippling water. "Here, come here."**

**He pointed his wand at the closest fish, cast a nonverbal Slowing Charm on it, and then waved his wand in a tricky, hard-to-follow pattern. The black spots on the fish's back rearranged themselves so that they read '_J + N_'.**

**"Aye?" he said, looking back at Noah and grinning. "Alright, we can go visit the field now. No use delaying the inevitable."**

* * *

Noah gave a small shrug. "We haven't had many proper dates, actually," he mumbled, but grinned back at Jo.

He was truly enjoying this, actually. Not having to keep his guard up, for a change, and just talk about anything other than 'lifesaving plans' or 'escaping and hiding plans'. And most of all, just being with Jo. Any excuse to be with him and seeing that mesmerizing grin was good enough for Noah. So, if he wanted gardens, Noah could definitely give him gardens.

He watched silently as Jo spelled the fish. He snorted an amused laughter. "So, it's not cool to mark the tree, but it's fine to mark the fish?" He leaned over to watch Jo's work, then leaned over against Jo's ear. "Forever," he whispered, kissing his temple.

He beamed at Jo's permission to check out the Quidditch field. It was a very faithful replica of the field at Hogwarts, if only slightly smaller; or maybe it looked so because there were practically no seats around it.

"This is amazing," Noah murmured, approaching the ring-posts and giving them a shake.

At the end of the field where they were was a small building, which Noah assumed was some sort of locker room. They approached it, Noah feeling like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents. The door was unlocked, so he pushed it open.

His eyes settled immediately on the wall in front of them. He let out a soft groan of joy. "Oh, Sweet Merlin, it's like a Quidditch store… look at all these brooms!"

Lined up in a wooden display were several brooms, all sizes and shapes. Noah approached it with a look of awe in his face. There were brooms like he'd had when he was little and was only starting to learn how to fly, some medium sized practice brooms, regular riding brooms, much more suited for long trips, and finally – his heart skipped a beat looking at them – the best and latest models of racing broomsticks.

He touched them gingerly as he walked by. "Nimbus 1001, 1500 and 1700," he read on the handles. "There are also Comets, Cleansweeps and," his breath caught and he carefully took the last broomstick out of its holder, handling it so carefully one would think it could break with a simple shake. "The new Oakshaft 79," he breathed in awe, sliding one finger along the broomstick until it brushed the twigs.

"It's not even for sale yet, in most places…"

* * *

**Josiah closed his eyes as he felt Noah's lips brush his temple. A small smile graced his lips; a faint, pink flush crept into his cheeks.**

**"The fish doesn't mind," he said with good-natured defensiveness. He lifted the charm so that the fish could swim at a normal speed again, and then watched it for a short while. "I love you," he said, softly. He stood up, grinning as Noah's eyes sparkled at the mention of the Quidditch field.**

**How could he deny that face?**

**He walked a little more slowly than Noah, still admiring the roses as they walked by. He wondered, briefly, if the elves kept these gardens too; it made sense, he supposed. Pinky had said there were many elves working in the house, but only enough to keep it running. He wondered how many more surprises there were around the estate, waiting to be discovered.**

**Of course, they could always simply ask Ezra, but that didn't seem like quite as much fun.**

**"Must have been big on Quidditch, his parents," Josiah murmured, looking up at the rings. They were just as tall as the ones at Hogwarts, as far as he could tell. Looking for too long made him a little dizzy, so he looked back at Noah… who was already investigating the shed at the far wall. He hurried to catch up, although Noah's gasp of amazement preceded his arrival.**

**"Oh dear," Jo said, grinning. "Well, if you go missing in the middle of the night, I'll know where to look for you," he teased. He slipped into the small locker room behind his boyfriend, looking less at the brooms and more at the memorabilia on the wall.**

**"His father, I suppose," he murmured, scanning the vintage jerseys with his eyes. They all said GREENGRASS on the back in embroidered silver letters. There was also an entire wall of photos, which Jo had to squint at so that he could properly read the captions. "'After winning the House Cup, 1943'," he read out loud, raising his eyebrows.**

**He could see Ezra's father, young and tall and strapping, just like his son; the hair was different, and the face shape, but they had the same proud, confident smirk. He felt a strange pang that wasn't quite sadness; he knew that Ezra's parents had done bad things, terrible even, but to die like that…**

**He sighed.**

**"Oh," said Jo, brightening considerably. "What a cute little wee broom. Is this what he learned to fly on, do you reckon?" He held up the child-sized broom and inspected it. Some of the twigs were out of place, but it was in very good condition otherwise. He looked up to see Noah fawning over the new Oakshaft model, and gave him a knowing look.**

**"Why don't you try it out?" he suggested nonchalantly. "I don't reckon Ezra will mind. It's his now, innit?"**

* * *

Noah looked away from the Oakshaft long enough to check out what Jo was looking at, then resumed his careful assessment of the broom.

"You know, they say it's pretty fast, but," he held it with three fingers in a point between the middle and the twig end of the handle. The broom started to move slowly, the twig side dropping. "It doesn't have as good of a balance as the company claims…" He was mostly talking to himself, but at Jo's mention of the small broom, he walked over to his side, still holding the broom in his hand.

"Hmm, yes, it seems like it." He pointed a finger at a few chipped places. "Most definitely a kid's broom, and a worn-out one. Makes sense, I suppose, since he didn't have any siblings."

He looked at Jo, then at the broom, then back at Jo. A smile was blossoming, but he shook his head. "I'm not sure I should… I doubt even Greengrass has seen it yet. It looks like it hasn't been used yet." He looked at Jo again, with a look that was almost pleading. '_Just give me a reason to_', it said.

* * *

**Ezra held his wand aloft in the small tunnel, holding his arm behind him so that he could keep a firm grip on Daniella's hand.**

**"The stairs are a bit worn," he said apologetically, trying to illuminate them as best he could. "My great-great-grandfather had this particular passage built because he was too lazy to take the main stairs from the ballroom. His son was the only one who thought to install the lifts," he narrated the family history somewhat sardonically. Then, coming to the end of the path, he turned to her and grinned.**

**"I expect you'll like it," he said quietly, grabbing a lever on the side of the wall which happened to connect to a wall sconce in the broom shed in the basement. The paneled wall swung open. Ezra and Jo jumped back at almost the exact same time.**

**"Merlin's pants," Jo murmured first, putting a hand to his chest. Then, he looked at the passage that had opened in the wall with reverence. "So you do have them in this place, then? Noah and I looked behind the tapestry earlier, but no dice."**

**Ezra blinked several times, an amused smile blossoming on his face. He led Daniella through the makeshift doorway and tugged on the wall sconce to close the passage behind them. He saw Noah, then, and looked at the broom clasped in his hands.**

**He smirked.**

**"I suppose I should have known," he drawled. Then, his eyes gave a subdued twinkle. "Have you ridden it yet?"**

* * *

Daniella entered the shed behind Ezra. "You two were fast!" She teased, glancing at Jo with resigned patience. Was this what Ezra thought she would like, his private collection of broomsticks?

She looked around at the trophies and the pictures with polite interest. She hadn't known Ezra's family had been so into that magical sport.

Noah's eyes widened when Ezra showed up. He would've flushed, if it wasn't for Ezra's expression. He offered him a smug smirk. "Well, after all the work I had to get your skinny bum here, I needed to make sure you wouldn't kill yourself using one of these…"

He waited a couple seconds, then asked hopefully, "May I?"

* * *

**Jo grinned sheepishly, looking from Dan to Ezra with a slight flush in his cheeks. Ezra, meanwhile, looked around as though he hadn't seen the place for a century. His smile faded for a moment, but he looked back quickly to Noah as he spoke. He arched one dark eyebrow, smirking more widely.**

**"Don't be so quick to write me off, Ledger," he said silkily. "Remember whose house you're in. Perhaps I'll join you, after I show Daniella the garden." He gave her hand a slight squeeze, smiling back at her.**

**"I hope you didn't think I brought you here for the Quidditch," he murmured, bending over so that his nose touched hers. He grinned wickedly and led her, gently, out of the shed and onto the field.**

**"Knock yourself out," Ezra called over his shoulder to Noah. Josiah pursed his lips.**

**"Please don't literally knock yourself out," he added, with affectionate emphasis.**

* * *

Daniella's smile was relieved; she perked up at the mention of a garden. "Good, I was starting to think you'd bumped your head or something…" She wasn't sure how a garden could grow in a basement, but stranger things had happened. "Let's see that garden, then," she said, winking at Jo as she passed him by.

She walked out of the shed, took a long, astonished look at the field with the ring-posts, then looked ahead towards the place Ezra was taking her to. She squinted under the intense light of the sun that hurt her eyes after the darkness of the tunnel and the dim lighting in the shed.

There were a few bushes ahead of them, but she was looking up, shielding her eyes with one hand. "Oh my…"

A fluffy white cloud passed by in the magical sky that took the place of what should've been the ceiling of the basement, momentarily hiding the sun.

She looked down again, "It's an actual garden!" She gasped in a choked voice. "Ezra, it's beautiful!"

She looked at the pond, the lovely benches scattered on the sides of the path, all the flowers that created an explosion of color and life in that place. "Are those real?" She said, looking over at the pond and the fish swimming in there.

* * *

**Ezra allowed himself to be pleased at her positive reaction; he took a moment to look at the happiness on her face as she looked up into the enchanted sky. She was so incredibly, achingly beautiful. He studied her for several long moments before she looked back at him. Gently, he began to lead her down the path so that they might sit on one of the benches and watch the fish.**

**"Yes, they're real," he murmured, staring down at them with a pleasant look. "There's a full-time garden staff whose only job is to trim the hedges-" he motioned to several shrubs in the distance, some tall, some short, but all trimmed into interesting shapes. "-mow the lawn, prune the flowers, and feed the koi."**

**He gave her a small smile.**

**"It was my favorite place when I was young," he murmured, leaning back on the bench and crossing his legs at the ankles. "They change the flower selection every season. They put up a tree in Christmas, and snow, although they remove it if you ask - it's all just enchanted, of course."**

**He looked over at her, then, studying her intensely.**

**"So? Does the Mistress approve?" he asked softly, grinning.**

* * *

Daniella looked away a little self-consciously when she realized Ezra had been staring at her. She sat with him on the bench, studying the details that showed all the care and love put into that garden.

"It's breathtaking," she murmured, as if to not disturb the soft sound of the water in the fountain and the rustling of the leaves when an enchanted breeze passed by. She looked at her fiancé, her heart so full it didn't fit in her chest anymore, "And so are you." She leaned over to give him a kiss, long and soft.

* * *

**Ezra leaned into the kiss, feeling more at home than he ever had, even in his own house. Despite all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours - the torture, the beatings, the sorrow, the death - he was happier in this moment than he had been for months and months.**

**This was everything he'd been waiting for. He pulled away, still smiling softly.**

**Meanwhile, Josiah was beside Noah, inspecting a broom he'd picked out for his own. It had a thicker handle, which he liked, and was a little older and so hopefully wouldn't go quite as fast as Noah's had. Curiously, he looked over at the garden.**

**"I think they're having a moment," he whispered to Noah, stifling a giggle so that it became a soft, airy chuckle. He lifted one leg over the broom carefully, trying to get a feel for the weight of it. "Ye know, somehow, this doesn't seem as intimidating as it did in the woods," he said, kicking off and swinging his legs idly.**

* * *

Noah hadn't been expecting Jo to grab a broom as well, but he was pleasantly surprised. He looked over his shoulder at the couple in the garden, meeting Jo's chuckle with a grin.

"I reckon those two deserve a break too, right?" He straddled his Oakshaft and took off the ground, testing its balance. It seemed like a pretty sturdy broom, at least. "Wanna race?" He asked Jo teasingly.

* * *

**Jo snorted, easing the broom higher as Noah joined him on the Oakshaft.**

**"Sure," he said sarcastically, watching the ground below him get further and further away. "You can pretend it's racing, if it makes you feel better." He grinned at his boyfriend, teasing back.**

**Jo looked up, ignoring the jumpy feeling it gave him in the pit of his belly and rising higher, higher, until he was so close he could see the charmed surface of the ceiling. He looked down; he was really very high up. He grimaced.**

**He'd flown all the way up there for a reason, however, and he wasn't touching back down until he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do.**

**"Oh, wow," he murmured, reaching out one hand shakily and touching the ceiling. It rippled slightly where his fingers grazed it, but quickly filled in the gaps after they left. It was cool, like silk. "That's really… marvelous charmwork. Absolutely breathtaking."**

**He looked over his shoulder with some difficulty, calling out to his boyfriend.**

**"Noah?" he shouted. "You really ought to come see this. It's fantastic."**

**Meanwhile, Ezra looked up from Daniella's lips, arching one eyebrow.**

**"What in Merlin's name are they doing?" he murmured with a wry hint of amusement.**

* * *

Noah watched Jo with amusement at first, then incredulity, then worry. He flew as close to Jo as he could, wondering if his boyfriend had lost control of his broom again.

But he didn't sound panicky, he sounded excited. Raising an eyebrow, he rose higher to see what had called his attention. When he realized Jo was checking out the Charm work on ceiling he started laughing so hard his Oakshaft started to jerk a little to the sides.

He sobered up long enough to regain control and then looked back at Jo, shaking his head. "You're impossible! I've been trying to teach you how to fly this whole time, and turns out you only needed some Charm work to do it…"

Daniella frowned, then followed Ezra's gaze above their heads. She grabbed onto Ezra's arms, concerned. "Is Jo alright? Why is he so high up?"

* * *

**Jo grinned, feeling a little braver now that he realized the broom was a lot sturdier than he had originally given it credit for. He touched the ceiling again, this time with a more critical gaze.**

**"I don't think this is an Atmospheric Charm," he murmured, watching it ripple under his fingers. "They're supposed to be firm. This is some sort of... I've never seen anything like it before. It's really incredible."**

**Ezra looked up at the Ravenclaw boy, then back to Daniella.**

**"We could go find out," he said, trying to make the prospect sound enticing. He wrapped one arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. "You can ride with me. I won't do anything you don't want me to do."**

**He studied her eyes, searching for approval.**

* * *

Daniella looked unsure from Jo, all the way up there at a terrifying height, to Ezra. "How can I say no when you look at me like that?" She asked, exasperated. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Alright… Let's go before I think about what I'm going to do."

They left the safety of their bench and headed to the Quidditch field, to get a broomstick. She looked at all the broomsticks suspiciously. "Why didn't they make flying couches instead?!" She grumbled. "It would've been much more fun…"

* * *

**Ezra grinned, following her closely down the path, over the field, and into the broom shed. He studied his options carefully, selecting a long-handled riding broom with sleek, black bristles.**

**"Would you like a flying couch?" he asked her seriously. "Because I can have that arranged." He carried the broom out to the center of the field and looked back, waiting. When she was closeby, he mounted the broom and waited for her to get on behind him.**

**"Just let me know when you want to go back down, and we'll go back down," he said in a soothing, silky tone. Then, he rolled up the sleeves of his white linen shirt, preparing himself.**

* * *

Daniella chuckled, looking slightly alarmed. "No, I'm fine, thanks! Don't get any more ideas…"

She followed him out to the field, took a long, deep breath and lifted a leg over the broom, holding on tightly to Ezra's waist. "Just make sure this old looking thing can support our weight without breaking or something," she demanded. "I'm ready," she said when she made sure she was seated as comfortably as she could.

Her fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt when her feet left the ground. She looked up at where Jo and Noah still were, the latter now looking down at them, seeming amused. "Jo," she called out. "If I die today, I'm going to come back just to kill you for this."

* * *

**Ezra shrugged; he'd thought that a flying couch seemed like a pretty good idea, now that he thought of it. Speaking of couches... his eyes lit up, and he pulled the broom back, taking them very, very gently upward.**

**"Where does one buy a television?" he asked Daniella over his shoulder, rather excitedly. "Do you suppose we could have electricity installed? Although it might be a bit of a hassle, having Muggles in the place... I wonder..." he trailed off, gliding to a smooth stop beside Noah. Josiah was still prodding the ceiling with interest.**

**"Ezra," Jo started with a curious tone. "What sort of charm is this? Do you know?"**

**Ezra blinked, momentarily distracted from his thoughts about television.**

**"Elf magic," he replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.**

**"Elf magic," Jo repeated dryly, feeling a bit dismayed. "And... can wizards learn to do this sort of thing? This..." he motioned vaguely to the ceiling. "You know. All of this. Do you think?"**

**Ezra bit his lip, thinking.**

**"Maybe," he said, tilting his head. "You should ask Pinky." He stated this as though it was the obvious solution, then tugged the broom slightly to the right and began to fly a little lower, over the gardens.**

**Josiah stared at Noah, then looked down, grimacing again.**

**"I can't tell if he's being cheeky or not," he mumbled, looking put-out. "What do you think? Can wizards learn elf magic?" He looked at Noah with starry, hopeful eyes.**

* * *

Daniella realized she wasn't surprised. It was as if, somehow, she'd been expecting that question since they'd stepped into that house. "Jo told me there are stores that sell all sorts of electronic devices, but I don't know where it is… You'll have to ask him or Noah."

She chanced a quick glance down when they passed over the oak tree. "Merlin's pants, I really was not born to do this," she whispered, but when she focused her eyes further ahead of them, instead of directly down, she didn't feel as dizzy and could actually enjoy the view a bit.

She rubbed her thumb – it was all she dared to move – up and down his side. "As long as you keep the elves out of sight, I suppose any Muggles who came in this house wouldn't be _too_ traumatized with its opulence," she said teasingly, grateful for the distraction that kept her mind busy enough to not think about how high she was now.

Noah shrugged. "With him, you can rarely tell… But I'm sure Pinky will be thrilled to help you out." He glanced at Jo, then at the Quidditch field. "Are you alright up here? Do you mind if I go to fly on the field for just a minute?"

* * *

**Ezra pondered this, humming in the back of his throat as they soared over the tree, the water, and the flowers. He pushed the broom a little lower, until their feet brushed the top of the tree on the way back around.**

**Yes, he would definitely be asking them later about these electronic device stores.**

**He turned the broom slowly, smiling into the wind.**

**"It just takes a bit of practice," he said encouragingly, trying not to sound too much like Ledger. "I used to get airsick, but father would make me practice anyway. Pokey had to follow me around with a towel."**

**He smiled grimly, easing the broom into a few more laps.**

**His broom. His garden. His house.**

**No… their house. All of them.**

**He wondered when it would begin to seem real.**

**"Do you think Johnston would feel more comfortable if we had electricity?" he wondered out loud, not sure if this was a rude thing to ask or not. Indeed, the other boy had obviously spent plenty of time at Hogwarts, but perhaps… Ezra had never stopped to think about what it would be like to use magic at school and then go home to a completely different world. It must have been difficult, he supposed.**

**Meanwhile, Josiah was beginning his slow descent.**

**"I'm fine," he murmured, concentrating heavily on not falling onto the field and breaking every bone in his body. "Aye, you go on ahead. I reckon I'm going to put my feet on solid ground now, if it's all the same to you."**

* * *

Daniella slipped her arms further around Ezra's waist comfortingly. She couldn't bring herself to feel much more than relief that his parents weren't around anymore to hurt him, but she felt sorry for his loss, nonetheless. Except, his loss hadn't truly happened that morning, it had happened throughout his life. The people who should've loved him the most, unconditionally, hadn't loved him at all. She could only hope to love him enough for all of them.

"Hmm," she said noncommittally, "I'll think about it. Most of the time, I just prefer to have my feet firmly touching the ground, though." She kissed him between the shoulder blades.

"I'm not sure Jo cares much about that," she said thoughtfully. "He's always loved to do magic, and I've never seen him watch television much. His sister spent hours watching something they call cartoons in the morning, though." An amused smirk blossomed again. "If you want her to like you, when she comes, you should consider having that done before the wedding."

Noah looked at Jo, following him down onto the field. He glanced at Ezra and Daniella, still flying lazily over the gardens and sighed. Damn that Greengrass, that seemed to know all the right things to do… "I'd prefer to stay with you, if you want to do something else," he said in a soothing manner. "Sorry, I know I get a little carried away, sometimes… But this is not very romantic. I can do it another time. What would you like to do?"

* * *

**Ezra smiled, comforted by the thought that, even if Daniella didn't fancy flying, she could now ponder the possibility without the threat of impending doom hanging over her head. The war wasn't over, he knew; at this rate, he didn't suppose the war would be over for a long, long time. But he drew comfort, however small, from the fact that he could provide them - his lover, his... friends? - with safety, at least for the foreseeable future.**

**He found the concept of having friends outside of Daniella a bit strange, and so shook it out of his mind for the time being.**

**"I see," he murmured, lost in thought again. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Josiah watch the television at all, even when they'd had one. And, as an aside, he hadn't even known the other boy had a sister. They'd been living together for so long that he'd felt like they knew each other quite well, but he was beginning to wonder if they truly knew each other at all. Hadn't Johnston and Ledger been surprised at the size of the manor? When he was attending Hogwarts, he'd always assumed that everyone around him knew the state of the Greengrass family, and of their long, illustrious history. Now he was coming to realize that he must have been a pompous jerk, and only other pompous jerks had found his status desirable.**

**He resolved, silently, to get to know the others better from that point on.**

**After several leisurely laps around the garden, he brought the broom down and landed, gently, on the plush grass of the field. He turned to face Daniella, his eyes slightly apprehensive.**

**"Do you think they might…" he trailed off, feeling uncertain. "Teach me? Muggle Studies, that is," he murmured, slightly embarrassed. "My parents never allowed me to enroll, but I should like very much to learn."**

**Josiah looked over at Noah, smiling lightly with a hint of nervousness now that his fascination with the elf magic had passed. He saw Noah look with furrowed brows over at Greengrass, then back to him. He laughed.**

**"Oh, don't give me that tripe, Noah Ledger," he said jokingly, rolling his eyes. "If I wanted to date Greengrass, then I'd just date Greengrass, wouldn't I now? You do a few laps and enjoy yourself, I'll meet you down on the field."**

**He gave his boyfriend a keen, playful look before pushing the broom forward with a little more courage, landing beside Ezra and Dan on the pitch.**

* * *

Daniella didn't waste time getting off of the broomstick. Ezra had been cautious and it had been sort of nice, but she was still relieved to touch the ground again.

She met Ezra's eyes and smiled lightly. "I'm sure they will! Jo always taught me whenever I asked him questions – and I asked plenty, the first few times I hung out with him outside of Hogwarts. Besides, he has been eager to learn some things from you too!" She winked at him. "I'm sure they'll have a ton of fun teaching us."

Jo landed beside them at that point. She looked up and, without any surprise, Noah was now circling the Quidditch field at full speed, looking a little confused. Daniella quickly looked away when he turned himself upside-down and focused on her friend.

"He couldn't resist, huh?" She asked Jo, grinning. She looked up at Ezra teasingly. "You can go too, if you want. I know that flight just now wasn't particularly exciting for you."

* * *

**Jo grinned at Daniella, inspecting the broom that was now clasped in his hands. He supposed he had plenty of time to get used to riding one, but for now, it was not his favorite activity.**

**"Well, you know," he said, noncommittally. "Boys." He smiled softly to himself. Truly, the fact that Noah had wanted to impress him by being romantic was more valuable to him than forcing him to do something he was uncomfortable with would have been.**

**Ezra looked up at Noah, down to Josiah, and then over at Daniella.**

**"I was excited," he murmured defensively, raising his eyebrows very slightly. "It's not as though I'm a… a '_speed demon_' or something," he added in a low mumble.**

**Josiah couldn't help himself; he burst into giggles. Ezra looked at the ground petulantly, his cheeks filling with heat.**

**"Would you all…" he began, looking up curiously and then back down. "I mean, when Ledger gets down, would you all fancy a tour?"**

* * *

Daniella laughed with Jo, then noticed Ezra's expression and cleared her throat a few times in an attempt to resume a serious face. "Well, I guess I should be happy that you haven't bought one of those 'motorbrooms' for yourself yet," she said with not-very-faked-relief.

She patted Ezra's shoulder lightly. "Go ahead and enjoy yourself. We'll accept that tour after you're done. Jo and I can take a walk on the garden while we wait. Maybe we can start planning some… I think this garden is lovely, we could have the ceremony here." She searched her fiancé's eyes for a reaction.

As much safer as they might be now, they weren't out of trouble yet, and the last thing she wanted was for Logan or any other Death Eaters to ruin the happiest day of her life. "Would you like that?" She asked, realizing she hadn't actually told him her idea yet.

* * *

**Ezra blinked.**

**"Yes," he said, nodding slightly. He looked around at the garden, then back at her, looking slightly bewildered. "Yes, that would be nice. I'd be delighted."**

**He searched Daniella's eyes and, with her permission and a small smile, walked off to the broom shed to grab a racing broom instead of a riding one. A few minutes later, he shot out of the open door like a rocket, joining Noah just below the enchanted sky.**

**"Look sharp, Ledger," he called out as he whizzed by, round to hover face-to-face with the other boy. He had a Quaffle under one arm; he tossed it gracefully, catching it on the tips of his fingers.**

**"Fancy a go?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'll let you play Chaser, even."**

**He tossed the large, red ball at the other boy.**

**Josiah was watching the pair with interest, using his hand to shield his eyes from the imaginary sun.**

**"I suspect they'll be occupied for a while," he said with a playful lilt, grinning over at Dan. Then, he looked out over the garden, too. His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. "It really is lovely, hey?"**

**He began the slow, leisurely walk toward the path, stuffing his hands into his pockets and mostly watching his feet.**

**"So…" he began slowly, trying to bring up the subject gently. "He's alright, is he? I mean, Noah and I were wondering… just that, you know, his parents and all…"**

* * *

Daniella slipped her arm through Jo's and walked with him. They hadn't had many chances to actually talk much in a while, with everything that had happened and the four of them living together in a tiny house.

She looked to the side as they passed by the fountain. "It's amazing! I wonder if it has been appreciated by anyone other than the elves who tend to it and Ezra, in the last few years…"

Daniella sighed, not sure what to tell him. "He's handling it quite well, considering what happened…" She looked off at the end of the path, as if reaching it would bring them all peace of heart. "He'd told me a bit about what it was like, but… in those few minutes we were in the same room, if you had seen how they treated him…" She paused, trying to keep the memory of that morning from returning; like she would ever be able to.

She glanced over her shoulder, to where Ezra and Noah were still playing. He'd come so far since she'd met him! "I suppose he's going to mourn in his own way, eventually. He's been telling me a few things about them, at least. But I don't want to force him to think about it too much. He gave away too much of his life and happiness for them already."

She knew she sounded bitter and resentful, but it was all too fresh. Maybe one day she could forgive them… but not in the foreseeable future.

* * *

**"I reckon you start to take it for granted if you live here your whole life," he murmured, admiring the fountain with her. "At least now we're all here to appreciate it. I thought we were goners, nearly, there at the end," he said, with a hint of desperate amusement.**

**They reached the end of the path and Josiah sat down on the bench, leaning back and looking up at the Quidditch pitch. They had a very good view of Noah and Ezra from there. He watched for a few moments, then turned back to Daniella.**

**"Is he in shock, d'you reckon?" he asked passively. "I can't imagine… I only heard a bit of the fighting, but I'm sure it was awful. I'm sorry we weren't able to get in sooner. It took us a while, of course, to find out where they'd taken you…"**

**He sighed, feeling as though any excuses he could make were too weak to stand. They'd done all they could; it was simply that Logan was bound and determined to ruin lives, especially theirs. He couldn't help but think that the fact that he kept failing at it was sheer dumb luck.**

**"But you're alright?" he asked, after a few beats of silence. "I mean, if you're still talking about the wedding, and we're here flying about on broomsticks, it's alright, right?"**

**He slid down further on the bench and closed his eyes, hoping.**

**"Given any thought to your dress?" he added, somewhat wickedly.**

* * *

Daniella shook her head. "No, it's good you didn't. They might just…" She shook her head more firmly. "They were willing to erase everything their own son had lived for over a year just because he wouldn't give me up. I don't even what to think about what they would've done to you. And Logan… he got money from them for getting their son to them. He doesn't stop at anything anymore."

She looked at the two figures flying; saw as Noah tried to get past Ezra and failed. "I'm not sure. I'll make him a potion to help him sleep tonight, just in case. We'll probably need to have some patience with him," she said, looking at Jo almost pleadingly.

"It's not like he tells me how he feels, but I think he's… unsure. About you and Noah, about all of this…" She rested her hand on Jo's and patted it, smiling. "But he's alright. We all are."

She let out an exasperated groan. "No… I have so much to do!" She rubbed her face, then looked at Jo expectantly. "Do you think your family would come? I wanted to invite them. Ezra said they could stay a while," She gave him a big grin.

* * *

**Josiah furrowed his eyebrows at Daniella's words, finding it difficult to imagine that any parents could even think about doing something like that to their only child. He had only ever known love. He looked back up at Ezra, who was smirking at Noah as they tossed the Quaffle back and forth.**

**They had been so hard on him at first, but now he realized that all the time he'd been with them, he had been struggling to fit in.**

**In that moment, he felt as though he didn't really know much about Ezra at all, which made him sad. Had he excluded the other boy just by assuming that he understood how the rest of them were feeling?**

**He grit his teeth as Daniella mentioned Logan, his mind temporarily drawn back to the present.**

**"Well, no surprise there, I'm sorry to say," he murmured bitterly. "I'm not sure I reckon there's anything he wouldn't do anymore. What a great prat."**

**He didn't feel like prat was a strong enough word, but he'd had a long day and it was the best he could do under the circumstances. It wasn't until she brought up potions that he looked up, suddenly remembering something.**

**"Oh," he started. "I shoved as many things as I could into my bag after... well, you know, after what happened. I'm not sure I got everything, but you might want to take a look and sort it out. I brought some of your clothes, too, from the cottage. If you want them," he added, only now realizing that any of them could probably have anything they so desired as long as they were staying in this kingly mansion.**

**He smiled at her, then, nodding.**

**"I can be patient," he assured her, reaching over and giving her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "I'll have a talk with Noah, too, and see if I can explain it to him a bit. He can be a little… emotionally obtuse, but he's good at heart. And I think they're becoming fast friends," he added, with a hint of amusement. As she patted his hand, he looked over again, touched at her suggestion that he invite his family to her wedding.**

**"Are you sure?" he asked, but he was smiling. "I think they'd love that. I know they miss you terribly. Merlin, I miss them terribly. It would be nice to see them again. Although what they'll think of this house I can't say..." his eyes scanned the garden again as he tried to picture his simple parents' reaction to such a luxurious place. "I'll write to them, though, and let you know. And then we can start looking for a dress for you, hey? I bet Juney can send a couple of catalogs by post."**

* * *

"Thanks, I'll do that. The potion brewing room I was in earlier has everything you could've possibly heard about, ever! But I like to have my own ingredients too. That'll be mostly Ezra's room, I reckon. And I can definitely use the rest of my clothes."

She suspected the elves – or Ezra – would take care of providing them all with new wardrobes soon enough, but still, they needed something to wear.

"They're already best friends and they are the only ones who don't know it yet," she said, just as amused. "But the rivalry will always be there, which will provide us with quite a few laughs!" She winked at Jo.

"I'm positive. Jo, they've been more of a family to me in the short time I spent with them than mine was."

It was something she'd never shared with anyone, out of embarrassment, mostly, but if she'd been spared the kind of abuse Ezra had gone through, was because of her brother. He'd always acted as a shield between her father and herself, especially since she'd started to rebel against her parents' ideas. For all that Logan was doing wrong, for all she didn't forgive him anymore, or even trust him anymore, she would never forget what he'd done for her in the past. But he'd chosen his path; she'd done what she could for him, and he'd refused her help. She'd finally learned to let go.

"I didn't go through the kind of things Ezra did, but if I have any idea of what a family is supposed to be really like, I learned from yours." She sat back, allowing herself to relax completely and watched the improvised Quidditch match, imagining what Pea would say if she was there.

She giggled. "Well, Pea will love this. And I'm sure your mom will enjoy having a little break from all the house work." She looked at Jo sideways, still wanting to giggle. "Can you imagine me in a wedding dress?!"

* * *

**Josiah laughed, picturing the look on Noah's face if anyone told him that Ezra was his best friend to his face.**

**"They're secretly quite a lot alike, aye," he murmured, still grinning with amusement. "I expect if they were colorblind in school, so as not to tell the difference between green and scarlet, they'd've already been getting on before now."**

**He studied his best friend as she talked about his family; it meant a lot to him that she felt that way, of course, but it also made him a little sad. He remembered the first time they'd met outside of Hogwarts - he'd been so nervous, but probably not nearly as nervous as her. He'd done it because he'd wanted her to feel like she had a safe place to be, a place where nobody was judging her and nobody expected her to be this or that.**

**He felt now like he'd always had three sisters instead of only two.**

**"Gosh, Pea will go wild," he said, laughing again. "You did warn him, right? That she'd be a handful? It will certainly be a good show, but I'd feel too bad thrusting my family on him without the proper warning he's due." He grinned over at her again, then sighed.**

**"Aye, I can imagine it," he said honestly, smiling warmly. "Of course I can. You think it's very odd, only because you're you, I reckon. But anyone else can plainly see you're crazy about each other, so it's only natural. It wouldn't be right any other way, really," he said softly, watching the fish he'd marked earlier swim near the surface of the pond and then turn away quickly in a flash of mottled white and orange.**


	30. New Beginnings

_**Chapter 30 - New Beginnings**_

Noah had just decided that the Oakshaft 79 wasn't all that people had been saying about it when Ezra joined him in the field. He was tempted to ask him to wait until he could change broomsticks, but he just thought 'what the heck' and caught the Quaffle.

He hadn't expected Ezra to join him. But, to be honest, he didn't really know what to expect from him at all, at the moment. And right now, as the Slytherin stared at him defiantly, he didn't really care either.

"Why not? Let's see if you actually learned anything in the last lesson," he teased, taking a few seconds to adjust his grip to a ball he wasn't used to handle. "First to 15, aye?" He asked, suddenly speeding to get past Ezra and towards the posts.

They played in concentrated silence for a few minutes. Noah had gotten a pretty good idea of how Ezra moved, but this was different, and he never assumed he'd seen all that his opponent was capable of.

He got two goals to none and now Ezra had the Quaffle. "Come on, Greengrass. You seem pretty rusty!"

* * *

**Ezra smirked as Noah caught the Quaffle, glad that his challenge had been accepted. After that poor showing with the bottles in the woods, he was looking to prove himself here on his home turf. He might not be a great Seeker, it was true; he had the attitude, but neither the vision nor the speed.**

**He was, however, something of a good Keeper.**

**"As you prefer," he said, speeding around to the posts and hovering in front of them. Noah closed in quickly, just as Ezra had expected he would; he got the first goal, but Ezra caught both the second and the third. It was the fourth, however, that swished by him through the middle hoop, and the Slytherin groaned lightly. He flew around to catch the Quaffle before it hit the ground.**

**"Rusty as compared to what, Ledger? Six solid years of Quidditch practices?" Ezra called sarcastically, holding the Quaffle firmly in one hand and eyeing the goal posts on the other end of the field. He sped for them, but his broom wasn't quite as fast as the Oakshaft. Ezra was, however, lighter...**

**"How does it fly?" he called back to Noah, weaving in the air experimentally, holding the Quaffle under one arm protectively. Then, abruptly, he stopped and swung his arm around, letting the Quaffle fly through the air in a soft arc toward the right hoop.**

* * *

"As compared to my standards, Greengrass," Noah's smirk was somewhat predatory. "You asked for my help, so you submit to my standards; even if they seem unfair to you." But damn, he thought, the Slytherin was actually a pretty decent Keeper. He showed more potential in a few minutes than the last Keeper in his team had shown in weeks.

Noah's reflexes were pretty good, and the Oakshaft could reach a pretty decent speed, but it didn't have the acceleration needed in that situation, so Ezra passed him easily and scored his first goal.

Noah dove for the Quaffle, shaking his head. "Not bad," he said. "Tell me, Greengrass, how many times did you try out? Did you ever try out to be a Keeper?" Many students tried out to be a Seeker, looking for the status it gave them within their house, and didn't accept any other positions. He was pretty sure Greengrass could've gotten the position, at least as a reserve…

They kept going at each other, and Noah had to sweat for his goals, but he kept a one goal lead until the score was 12 – 11.

"Did you use to play here a lot?" He asked off-handedly, not sure if the question was a bit sensitive at the moment or not.

* * *

**Ezra narrowed his eyes, still smirking in return. The Quaffle soared effortlessly through the hoop, and he watched smugly as Ledger retrieved it.**

**Well, he thought, it was better than nothing.**

**"Only once," he called back, flying around to block the other boy's path to his goal. "Slytherin already had a Keeper at the time. I expect Bulstrode would have bashed my head in with his great fat fist."**

**In truth, he hadn't really wanted to try out at all; as he'd told Noah during their previous match, for lack of a better term, his father had forced him into the idea. He'd always been more bookish, with far more brain than brawn.**

**They zipped across the pitch like bullets, scoring and blocking with gusto until Ezra was only goal behind. With one sleeve, he dabbed at the misty sweat he'd worked up on his forehead. He quirked the corner of his lips, enjoying the challenge. He only faltered for a moment when Noah brought up his childhood.**

**"Well," he replied with slightly forced nonchalance. "It's rather hard to play Quidditch when you don't have any friends. But, yes. Pokey used to throw the Quaffle at me so that I could practice blocking it."**

**He paused, smiling grimly.**

**"She has better aim than one might expect."**

**He turned quickly, then, and tied the game with a quick left-sided goal. He ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly.**

**"Where did you play?" he asked, somewhat apprehensively, as though social skills were a foreign language to him. "Surely you learned to fly before you arrived at Hogwarts. Do have any siblings?" he asked right after the fact, somewhat suddenly. "Daniella's only just told me that Johnston has siblings. I'd no idea."**

**He paused awkwardly, wondering if this made him sound self-absorbed.**

* * *

Noah hung his head for a moment, smacking the handle of his broom as Ezra tied the match. "Damn this broom! I'm never using it again for Quidditch," he groaned loudly, but quickly retrieved the Quaffle and approached Ezra's posts.

He was halfway to say something about Ezra's commentary of having no friends to play in a place like that, but he repressed it in time, remembering what they'd gone through just a few hours ago.

He focused on the Quaffle instead. He turned to his left, approaching the left ring rapidly, focusing to not lose the right moment to act. He turned to the right abruptly, nearing the opposite ring, as if changing his mind, but threw the Quaffle at the left ring. It hit the hoop with a clang but went in.

He grinned, pumping one fist in the air and slowed down for a moment. "Remember Gryffindor's Seeker, Shawn? We lived nearby, and we've known each other most of our lives. There was a rather large clearing near our village, hidden from view by the woods. His father used to take us there to teach us when we were little; then we kept going by ourselves, especially after we made the team."

He started backing closer to his own posts, realizing it had been the first time he mentioned Shawn in months. And, most importantly, it was the first time he thought of his teammate without feeling the urge to break his face all over again.

Maybe he really was getting over Quidditch a bit, after all. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but Ezra was coming at him quickly, so he pushed that thought aside for now.

* * *

**"Don't blame the broom," Ezra said sardonically, whipping around to cover his posts. "Unless you'd prefer that we switch, of course. It would be a minor inconvenience for me to beat you on a broom that I'm not familiar with, but I'll manage."**

**No sooner had he rattled off the quip than the Quaffle tumbled through the ring with a metal ring that made the post shake. Ezra puffed out his cheeks, releasing a long, slow exhale. He caught the Quaffle expertly in one hand.**

**"Ah, yes," he murmured, placing Shawn's face immediately in his mind. His meetings with the Gryffindor - indeed, most Gryffindors - had been rocky at best, but he did remember. He also remembered, somewhat unwillingly, a nasty rumor involving the two of them and Johnston. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'd always assumed you two were close."**

**He had maintained distant acquaintanceships with many of his housemates, including Logan, whom was one of his closest acquaintances in his formative years. He was ashamed to admit it now, but other than Sabrina, Logan had been the closest thing that he'd had to a friend. Perhaps that was why he'd felt so strongly about Daniella to begin with… for all the wrong reasons, of course, at first.**

**He snapped back to the present, tossing the Quaffle idly from one hand to the other.**

**"Well, I'm glad you had what appears to be an authentic childhood experience," Ezra said smoothly with a slanted grin. He zoomed over to the post and took a shot; it bounced off of the middle hoop and he caught it again.**

**"Bollocks," he said darkly.**

* * *

Noah's laughter filled the field. "Isn't it a bit too early to start getting cocky, Greengrass?"

Now he really wanted to win this challenge. And maybe he'd really make Greengrass fly on that broom, one of those days, after he got his own broom back. Ezra had the same model, of course, but he knew his broom, every flaw, every personality tilt it gave when he was flying. Maybe one day he would explain Greengrass why such details were so important in a professional world.

"Yeah, we were… until the day I broke his face after practice and lost my Captain badge," he looked at Ezra with a mix of casualness and defiance. "I'm sure you heard the rumors about it. I don't think a single broomstick or mop in Hogwarts didn't hear about it."

Ezra failed his next attempt, but Noah couldn't recover the Quaffle. He regained balance quickly, positioning himself in front of the middle ring and eyeing him intently.

"I can't complain," he said lightly. "Of course, since I told them about Jo, my father doesn't talk to me, but…" he shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

* * *

**"Now, now, Ledger," Ezra said silkily. "You can't take my overconfidence from me. It's all I've got." He gave Noah a mocking pout, which blossomed into a sly grin. "Well, not all I've got."**

**He held the Quaffle for a few moments, staring down the hoops as though he were trying to intimidate them into submission. Once he realized it was useless, he hauled off and threw the Quaffle with as much strength as he could muster in his tired arm.**

**It bounced off again, this time flying towards Noah instead of back to him. He sighed, but smiled wryly.**

**"I heard," he said with some amount of caution. After a few beats of silence and an apparent lack of hostility about the situation in general, he hazarded to add: "I can't say that I was surprised. I knew he was a prat already."**

**He flew to the other end of the field to guard his posts, hovering comfortably around the middle, just in case his opponent tried one of those fancy bait-and-switch moves again.**

**It wasn't until Noah mentioned his father that Ezra stopped. For a moment, his expression softened; he totally forgot about defending his goals and looked off to the side.**

**Several beats of silence passed as he thought about the people he'd come to know over the past few months. He'd never been exposed much to a... well, a homosexual relationship… before that time. Anyone who talked about it talked about it in relatively hushed tones. He'd thought about it once or twice, of course. Surely everyone had.**

**What bothered him about the situation was that he knew, in his heart, that Ledger and Johnston truly loved each other. He knew this just as surely as he knew that he loved Daniella, and that Daniella loved him in return.**

**He didn't see why it was any different, and he didn't understand why anyone else did, either.**

**"I'm sorry," he said finally, a bit awkwardly.**

* * *

Noah recovered the Quaffle with ease. "Yeah, he was. But then again, so was I for a large part of my life; maybe that's why we got along for so long. Quidditch taught me discipline and that being a leader isn't the same as being a bully. Jo taught me so much more than that," he said quietly, then realized he'd said it out loud to Greengrass, nonetheless.

He frowned at himself, shook himself mentally and refocused his attention on the rings, but Ezra was no longer paying attention.

He could've scored and finished it, but the other boy's words stopped him. "Yeah," he started, and he was going to say it wasn't a big deal, then thought better. He gave a curt nod. "I appreciate that. But I don't think about it too much. I think his disappointment was mostly because I ruined my career in Quidditch; he blames Jo for that." He shrugged off the awkwardness and said lightly, "Or so my mother says."

He looked up at Ezra with narrowed eyes, then gestured to the two figures sitting on the bench, looking up at them. "Why don't we call it a draw? I reckon they're bored of watching us."

He started lowering himself to the ground and they got momentarily out of the sight of the others. He pulled his leg off of the broom and waited for Ezra to join him, scuffing the short grass with one shoe.

"Hmm…" he hesitated, "May I ask you a question?" He could feel his ears heating up and made his best not to flush. "How can you tell what she wants? Like, being romantic and such?" He regretted the words the moment they got out, but he couldn't go back now. He avoided Greengrass' gaze.

* * *

**Ezra had a fleeting thought that, perhaps, his father and Noah's father were a bit alike; then, however, he remembered that Noah's father was more than likely neither a supporter of Death Eaters nor a violent, trigger-happy fuckhead. He swallowed the comparison, squinting up into the fake blue sky, where the clouds were always perfectly white and fluffy.**

**Relating to other people was hard. At Noah's acknowledgement of his awkward apology, he nodded twice, slowly, but said nothing for some time.**

**"Fair enough," he said, huffing out a weak chuckle. He was sweaty and sore, and his nerves were still a bit frayed from his ordeal the previous day. They could settle their scores some other time; right now, he was just glad to have a safe place to stay and friendly faces to share it with. "Thanks for playing," he added, almost too quietly to hear.**

**He landed with a soft thump on the grass, dismounted from his broomstick, and lifted it to rest over one shoulder. The bristles pointed toward the sky. He stretched loosely, closing one eye, which he opened again as Noah spoke to him.**

**He blinked, the caution in Noah's voice making him apprehensive.**

**"You may," he murmured, furrowing his eyebrows a bit and starting the walk to the broom shed so that he could look at the ground on the way instead of the other boy's face. Once Noah posed his question, Ezra was glad for this; he definitely hadn't been expecting anything like that. He let out a long, pensive hum, thinking. They reached the shed, and he propped his broom back up on its holder. In the corner, one of many black sets of Quidditch balls was still lying open. There was a large dent in the velvet case where the Quaffle had been removed.**

**"I can't be sure if it's the same… with… well, that is to say, if our relationships are similar. However, in my experience…" he trailed off, feeling a bit stupid. "When you put effort into an action, it becomes more personal, somehow. It only requires a bit of forethought. For example," he said, gaining a bit more confidence. He leaned against the wall, but he was still looking at the floor determinedly. "On our first date, I showed Daniella a secret passage in Hogsmeade. Not because it was particularly of interest, but because… if you are interested in someone, everything becomes interesting if you do it together. But there is a marked difference between enjoying an activity and enjoying someone's company. It's just that people often confuse the two."**

**He conveniently left out the part of the memory where he and Daniella had been wickedly drunk, made out in the passageway, and then parted ways so that he could relieve himself of mounting sexual tension.**

**"Anyway, nevermind that," he mumbled, now blushing a bit himself. "I was going to give you lot a tour. Er, if you'd like."**

* * *

Noah walked into the shed behind Ezra and put the Oakshaft back in the holder, next to other riding brooms, instead of where it had been, next to the racing brooms. "This is no racing broom," he murmured, shaking his head as he thought about the article on Top Quidditch magazine about how the Oakshaft 79 promised to change the sport.

He looked at the brooms a while longer while Ezra talked, but he was listening intently, his brow slightly furrowed in thought. At Ezra's conclusion about people confusing things, he snorted softly. "Well, it is confusing…" he mumbled.

He walked out of the shed again, to meet the others, waiting for Ezra outside the door. "Sorry we started snooping around without asking," he said lowly, not really sorry at all. "We got curious. But a guided tour would be welcome!"

At the end of the cobble path, Daniella noticed Ezra and Noah had disappeared. "It seems like they're done," she said, turning to Jo. When she did that, she noticed her hair was still red and her eyes widened. She'd completely forgotten about that!

"Erm, Jo, can you fix my hair before Ezra gets back? I think he's slowly growing fond of it, but I prefer my original color," she said solemnly.

* * *

**Jo looked at Dan's hair; his eyes widened, too. Then, he giggled a little.**

**"Oh, love, I'm so sorry," he murmured, pulling out his wand hastily. "I totally forgot. Merlin's beard." He pointed his wand directly at the roots of her hair; the deep red color rolled off quickly, as though it had melted off and instantly evaporated.**

**"There," he said brightly, tucking his wand back into his pocket and grinning at her. At that moment, Noah and Ezra appeared on the path, on their way back from the Quidditch pitch.**

**"Hi," Jo said, a little breathlessly, smiling at Noah. He looked a little pink; Jo raised his eyebrows slightly. "Everything alright?" he asked, still cheerful. Ezra stepped forward and offered Daniella a hand up from the bench.**

**"We tied," he told them, smirking and looking over his shoulder at Noah. "He's sulking."**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra walked down the sidewalk slowly, looking at his shoes and trying to recall all the information he'd been taught only a few hours before. He whispered to himself soundlessly, moving his lips as he thought. Every now and then, he stopped near a shop front and squinted at the price tags, muttering.**

**He looked over at Noah, who looked much more comfortable. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks and felt a pang of envy.**

**"Do you know anything of electricity?" he asked suddenly as a Muggle businessman pushed by him on the street. Ezra pursed his lips, but he was too busy looking at all the signs of the small businesses lining the street to be too grumpy.**

**It was rather exciting, really, this Muggle business.**

**"It's just that I'd thought of having a… what do you call them? E-lec-trishans?" he murmured dreamily. "How does one hire an e-lec-trishan?"**

* * *

Noah looked around with interest as they walked. He'd never seen much of Muggle London before and the town seemed a lot busier than the village where he'd grown up. But mostly, he looked around because looking at Ezra made him want to laugh. He looked like an excited puppy on his first walk.

"Hmm, well, I know how it works, sort of. And I know, from experience, an electrical shock hurts like hell," he looked at Ezra solemnly. "Which is what happens if you touch wires that aren't insulated or if you put your fingers in the electric outlets."

They walked by a bakery and Noah's head turned at the showcase, momentarily distracted. Ezra kept walking, though, fixed on the idea of finding the electronic store, so he sighed and walked away from the temptation.

He rubbed his neck, thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how we'd get in touch with one of them, to be honest. My parents knew a Muggle electrician, but he doesn't live in London." He pondered that for a while, but then his eyes lay on a brightly lit sign above their heads, on the other side of the road, where the word '_ElectroLondon_' flashed. On display were televisions, radios and other devices he didn't immediately recognize.

He poked Ezra with his elbow and pointed at the sign. "We'll probably find who you're looking for there," he said, grinning.

* * *

**Ezra looked up at the store Noah indicated; his eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal. His face became a mask of determination. He walked toward the door stiffly, looked back at Noah, and opened it for them both.**

**The store had a rather strange plastic-y smell that Ezra found mildly disconcerting. The floor was made of yellow-white tiles that were patterned with strange specks of blue and purple that looked like confetti. As the door swung shut, a loud bell-like noise sounded throughout the entire store.**

**Ezra jumped, startled, and looked around for the source of the noise.**

**"May I help you?" said an uncertain voice behind him. Ezra jumped again.**

**"Er, yes," he murmured, equally uncertain. The clerk was dressed very informally in stained khakis, a polo shirt, and a red apron bearing the word ElectroLondon on. He had large glasses and a prematurely receding hairline. He cleared his throat, and Ezra realized that he was waiting for him to say something. "I'd like to buy a television."**

**The clerk nodded slowly, looking relieved to be in familiar territory again. Ezra noticed that the tag on his apron said 'Larry.'**

**"Tabletop or console?" asked Larry.**

**Ezra blinked.**

**"Erm," he said, looking back to Noah for assistance. "Whichever's… bigger?"**

* * *

Noah walked in after Ezra, watching the other boy with amusement. He started looking around, recognizing a couple of the brands displayed. At Ezra's last words, he smirked and walked further into the store until he was staring at the biggest television set in sight, studying it intently, even though he wasn't entirely sure what to look for.

"This is the biggest," he said, looking over his shoulder at Ezra. "But we'll need sturdy furniture for this… It must be over 40 inches! It comes with a remote and-" He stopped suddenly, narrowing his eyes at the device next to the television.

The label read 'Magnavox Odyssey games console'. "Oh…" he murmured excitedly. He'd definitely heard of those! He looked back at Ezra with a look that was almost pleading, then glanced at the clerk. "Does this console work on this television?" He asked hopefully.

* * *

**Ezra followed Noah closely, feeling vague and dream-like as he passed between the rows of cords and radios and bits and bobs and thingamajigs. They finally stopped in front of a television that was, in Ezra's opinion, impossibly large; he hadn't pictured a television that large in his wildest dreams. Oh, how crisp Crossroads would look on a television like that! It wasn't until Noah pointed to the small box beside it that Ezra snapped back to attention.**

**"The Odyssey? Sure, it works," Larry said nonchalantly. He picked up the small box and plugged one of its thingies into a small hole in the television. He turned the television on; it flickered to life slowly. Ezra watched, amazed, as the words MAGNAVOX covered the large screen.**

**"Comes with a free game," Larry added, hopefully, wiggling a small grey object at them. "Only forty pounds more with your telly purchase."**

**Ezra blinked at Larry. Larry blinked back.**

**"How much is the television?" Ezra inquired softly, reaching out to pat its wooden top.**

**"Er, seventeen-hundred pounds," said Larry uncertainly, as though he was afraid that these two teenage boys had only come in to have him on. "Seventeen-hundred and forty with the Odyssey. We've got a lease program on at the moment, so, erm, it's six months with no interest, and you get a free telly license..."**

**"Oh," Ezra stopped him with a single hand. "No, I'll be… 'paying in cash', as it were."**

* * *

Noah watched what Larry did intently. He didn't want to ask how it worked, or where to connect everything, so he had to pay attention now.

He was burning with excitement when the words appeared on the screen. He'd only played those games a couple of times, at a Muggleborn friend's house. He'd tried to convince his parents to buy it for him, but they hadn't given in.

He looked at Ezra with a mix of shyness and poorly restrained excitement. "Just wait until you try the games!" He said, trying to tempt him. He glanced at Larry again. "Which game is it? Is it Space Invaders?"

He was about to take off looking for what games might be available, but he looked at Ezra when Larry said the price; he was the one with the money, after all and that television was very expensive. He couldn't quite contain his grin at Ezra's words, but then he remembered all of that would be useless if they couldn't get electricity in the mansion.

"Er, Larry," he started, trying to sound even and business like. "Do you know any electricians? You see, we just moved into a new house and we haven't had electricity installed yet, so we'll need to take care of that before we buy something like this," he explained, nodding.

* * *

**Ezra blinked at Noah, who seemed, quite irrationally, more excited about the small grey box than he did about the television. He inspected the small cartridge distractedly - indeed, Space Invaders - and nodded distractedly.**

**"Yes, alright," he murmured. Larry looked from Noah to Ezra, looking bemused.**

**"So you've a house without electricity, in London," he said slowly, as though to make sure he had his facts straight. Ezra nodded, untroubled by this assessment.**

**"Yes," he replied honestly, blinking. Was that unusual? "Well, it's quite an old house."**

**"An old house," Larry repeated hollowly, his eyes glazing somewhat. He looked at Noah, nodding. "Well, we've a list of independent contractors up at the desk. You can have a look if you like."**

**Ezra wasn't sure what an independent contractor was, but he nodded anyway, trusting that Larry wasn't up to anything mischievous. The other man wandered off to the front desk, presumably to prepare the paperwork for their television license. Ezra leaned back and whispered.**

**"Ledger," he hissed quietly. "What's an… independent contractor?"**

* * *

Noah realized a moment too late that, indeed, it was a little odd that any house in a big town like London didn't have electricity, but if they didn't get the information there, it would be much more difficult to get it elsewhere.

He nodded at Ezra's explanation. "Yes, exactly. It's a really big place too," he added, walking up to the desk Larry indicated to take a look at the list. "It was abandoned for some time, that's why it doesn't have electricity."

He met Ezra's eyes at his question. "It's the people who build houses, I think," he murmured back. "They usually know everything about plumbing, electricity and whatnot. If they're independent, we can hire just one of them privately. It'll make it easier in case he sees more than he should," he said in a warning tone. "I'll just copy these names and Jo can help us figure out who's the best guy for the job."

He looked at the list. There was no way he could memorize that and he only had a piece of parchment and a quill with him. Larry would find that weird. He leaned a bit closer to Ezra and whispered, "Distract him, I need to copy all of these."

* * *

**"Not haunted, is it?" Larry asked jokingly, huffing out a sarcastic laugh as he scribbled on a complicated looking form with a ballpoint pen. Ezra watched the pen, mesmerized, before looking up.**

**"Well, not anymore," Ezra murmured matter-of-factly. "We did have…" he looked over at Noah, then back to Larry, who looked incredibly confused. He cleared his throat, trailing off into an uneasy laugh.**

**Larry smiled confusedly but indulgently, because Larry worked on commission and this sale was going to pay six months of his rent.**

**Ezra nodded to Noah. Trying to think quickly, he cleared his throat. Larry looked at him expectantly.**

**"So," he said, as pleasantly as he could manage. "Would you be kind enough to show me how it works once more?"**

**Larry repressed a hearty sigh with great skill.**

**"Sure, mate," he said, patting Ezra on his sharply-dressed bony shoulder. Ezra followed him, feeling a bit huffy. Muggles sure did warm up to people quickly, didn't they? Always so informal…**

**They stopped in front of the large television again. Ezra stared at it as Larry began fiddling with the buttons.**

**"This is the power button," he murmured, pointing. "Channel buttons, volume buttons, et cetera. Of course, mostly people rightly use the remote for that. This is just if you lose it."**

**"I won't," Ezra said, confidently.**

**Larry nodded, raising one eyebrow.**

**"Right," he said. "Well, these are the audio and video ports, where you hook up your Odyssey, see?" he said, checking in with Ezra to make sure he was following along.**

**Ezra nodded vigorously.**

**"And that's it, really," Larry said, patting the television. "Of course, if you're getting bad reception, you'll just adjust these here until the picture clears up. But it's dead simple, really. Even my gran can do it, and my gran can't even chicken-peck two words on a typewriter."**

**"A typewriter?" Ezra murmured, unable to stop himself. He and Larry stared at each other for a moment. Ezra pulled out his newly-gained wallet - he found these Muggle forms of money-carrying highly impractical - and pulled out a fat wad of 50 pound notes.**

**"Blimey," said Larry, laughing nervously. "Now, now, there's no need to get all that out here, see. We'll go up to the front desk, if you like, and do it proper."**

**"You don't take… cash?" Ezra asked, crestfallen.**

**"Oh no, er, no, cash is fine," Larry mumbled, wiping a bead of sweat from his shiny, mostly-bald forehead.**

* * *

Noah studied Ezra with interest, curious about the possibility of meeting a ghost in the mansion. He sobered up when Larry gave them an odd look, trying to look as normal as possible and not like he was finding all of that hilarious. The man could think they were mocking him and not sell them anything.

He leaned over the desk as soon as the others turned their backs and quickly copied all the names and contacts to the piece of parchment he had. When he looked up and turned around, he saw Ezra flashing all that money and the Muggle paling a bit.

He tried to get their attention, but gave up and hurried to join them, not sure what to do. He couldn't just yank the money out of Ezra's hands. "Maybe it's best to do it at the desk, yes," he said, giving Ezra an intent look as he made him turn around to the back of the store. "Just give him…" He glanced at the money. "35 of those," he murmured.

* * *

**Larry looked relieved when Noah came to retrieve Ezra; all he wanted to do at this point was make the sale and get them out of the store.**

**Ezra nodded at Noah solemnly, flicking through the flimsy paper notes with intense concentration.**

**Together, they walked slowly toward the desk. Ezra, who had finally counted out 35 fifty-pound notes, flapped them onto the counter and pushed them towards Larry, who scooped them up with great care. The register opened with a cheerful ding; Ezra watched it with interest, almost missing the ten pound note that Larry was waving in front of his face.**

**He took it, momentarily perplexed.**

**"Your change," Larry said, his voice strained.**

**"Ah, yes," Ezra murmured. "Thank you, Larry."**

**"Will you be wanting that delivered?" Larry asked hurriedly, feeling a bit nervous. "It's free. Erm, sir."**

**Ezra raised his eyebrows at this sudden gesture of kindness.**

**"It's free?" Ezra repeated, pleased. "Well, in that case. Number Eight, Flat One, Kensington Palace Gardens East."**

**"It'll be along in about an hour," Larry assured them, and Ezra nodded distractedly, stuffing a bunch of bills and a receipt messily into his wallet. He looked up at Noah.**

**"Fancy a cuppa?" he murmured, sliding his wallet back into his trousers. "I'm a bit peckish."**

* * *

Noah's jaw was starting to hurt with the effort to keep a straight face. He wondered if Larry had ever held so much money in his hands at one time. He knew he hadn't. When the purchase was done, he quickly made his way out of the store, allowing himself a low chuckle at that point.

"Yeah, sure," he said, shaking his head at Ezra. "But I'll pay this time. If you keep flashing all that money, you'll either get robbed or give someone a heart attack." He looked at both sides of the busy street. "That bakery we passed by on our way here looked pretty inviting," he suggested.

* * *

**Ezra smiled wryly, stuffing his hands back into his trouser pockets and smiling against the cool autumn wind that brushed against his face.**

**"Did I do alright?" he asked Noah, feeling a bit self-conscious. "You don't think he suspected anything, do you?"**

**He furrowed his eyebrows at this thought, spotting the bakery a few meters ahead and making a beeline for the door. It was an upscale little place, filled to the brim with sweets and the smell of fresh tea. Ezra inhaled deeply.**

**This is the kind of Muggle establishment he could get used to.**

**A rosy-cheeked waitress saw them to a small bistro table and gave them a bright smile.**

**"What can I get for ya?" she asked with a wink at Noah, perching her pen over her order pad in preparation. Ezra looked from the girl and then back to Noah, smirked, and curled his fingers under his chin.**

**"Just a cup of black for me, thank you," he said dryly. "A shot of cream, no sugar. Do you have any chocolate biscuits, perchance?"**

**The girl looked at Noah again, slightly disheartened, but she nodded.**

**"Yes, we have. There's plain chocolate, fudge drizzle, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate biscotti, chocolate…"**

**"Plain chocolate would be delightful," Ezra said distractedly, handing her back the menu. "Thank you."**

* * *

Noah slipped his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. "You've done well enough to keep him from calling the police," he said playfully. He noticed Ezra's expression and shrugged. "We'll always look a little weird to Muggles, it can't be avoided. Even I have trouble with some things. But we bought their most expensive telly, so I'm sure he didn't mind it."

Noah followed the other boy into the store and smiled contentedly as he breathed in the scents of chocolate and cinnamon in the bakery. His smile froze in place as the girl looked at him with bright eyes. "Erm…" He started, shifting slightly in his seat, self-consciously.

He glanced at Ezra, but quickly looked away at his expression and stared at the table instead. "I'll have the same," he said quickly, even though he hadn't really paid attention to what Ezra had ordered. "And a slice of chocolate cheesecake," he added, feeling his face heat up against his will.

* * *

**Their waitress bounced off hurriedly, and Ezra arched an eyebrow and gave Noah a scrutinizing look.**

**"I didn't know you took milk tea," he said lowly, smirking. "Look sharp, Ledger. I've heard the Muggle girls are crafty."**

**He took a moment to inspect the surroundings of the small store; it was packed with couples and businessmen, as he supposed was to be expected. It was, after all, in a rather expensive part of town. Ezra couldn't blame the girl, then; after serving a bunch of shriveled old Muggle magnates all afternoon, even Ledger might look refreshing.**

**The girl bustled back while Ezra was lost in thought and set a cup and saucer in front of both of them.**

**"Your tea," she said breathlessly. "And your biscuits," she placed a small plate with four biscuits next to Ezra's cup. "And your cheesecake," she said to Noah in a small voice, sliding a thin slice of chocolate cheesecake with fudge drizzled over the top.**

**Ezra noticed that her face was bright red.**

* * *

Noah sighed when the girl walked away. His eyes shot up to meet Ezra's when he mentioned milk, then back at the table. Bloody hell, he'd asked her to add milk? Noah didn't mind tea, but he hated milk! "I…" He shrugged. "Sometimes," he said noncommittally.

He rolled his eyes and looked out the window instead. "Aren't they all crafty?" He mumbled as the girl returned.

It was impossible to stay grumpy in a place like that when they put cheesecake in front of you, though. "Thanks," he murmured, trying to smile as politely as he could without meeting her eyes.

He looked at the tea, pressing his lips together for a moment. With another sigh, he took a gulp, trying not to make a face. He turned his attention to the cheesecake instead, took the fork and took a large bite into his mouth, closing his eyes blissfully. "Delicious!"

* * *

**Ezra smirked insufferably, picking up the tea spoon he'd been provided and stirring his tea absentmindedly.**

**"You're welcome," the waitress squeaked. "I'm Leann, so if you two have need of anything, you just call," she finished in a hurry. Then, she turned and was gone in a flash. Ezra took no notice of her, lifting the blue-patterned teacup to his lips and sipping carefully with one finger out.**

**He rested the cup back on its saucer and nibbled at a biscuit.**

**"I say, that is good," he murmured, covering his mouth with one hand while he talked so as to be polite. He eyed Noah's cheesecake curiously, but kept said curiosity restrained.**

**"You can order another cup," he said amusedly after some time. "By the by, I was thinking the other day…" he trailed off, sipping some tea again. "You… like broomsticks, don't you?"**

**This was obviously a stupid question, but he had to get the conversation started somehow, and this seemed to be the easiest way.**

* * *

Noah lifted his cup of tea once more, only to put it back down, giving up on trying to drink it. His eyes flicked from Ezra to his cheesecake and he pushed the plate closer protectively. He could've offered him some, if he hadn't been so amused by Noah's embarrassment. "Never mind, I'll just enjoy my cheesecake," he said pointedly.

He took another bite, not caring one bit if anyone heard his low moan of approval. He looked up and met Ezra's eyes, blinking. "Pff, have you ever seen me on one? I hate them! Are you daft?" He said, trying his best impression at Ezra's usually snobbish tone. He snorted. "Why do you ask?"

Ezra eyed the cheesecake once more before looking up to the case at the front, trying to make out any other varieties that might be available. At Noah's quip, however, Ezra gave him a wry, sarcastic smile.

* * *

**"Ha ha," he said flatly, picking up another biscuit. He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments, regaining his composure.**

**"Well," he began, brushing some crumbs from his fingers. "As you may know by now, my father was somewhat… fond… of the enterprise. And, now that he's deceased…" he trailed off again, clearing his throat. "I've come into rather a lot of stock in a rather popular broomstick company with which you may be familiar."**

**He took another long, drawn-out sip of tea.**

**"I thought of buying the other shareholders out."**

* * *

Noah grinned as he finished his cheesecake, licking the fork as to not waste any of the chocolate. At Ezra's words, though, he looked up and dropped the fork noisily onto the plate.

He looked around, flushing intensely as the rich people on the other tables looked at him disapprovingly and put his hand on the fork hastily to stop the clatter.

He looked up at the Slytherin boy with wide eyes, astonished. "You mean…" he glanced around again and leaned onto the table lowering his voice. "You actually 'own' a broomstick company?!" He gasped, then curiosity ran free. "Which one?" He whispered.

* * *

**Ezra didn't flinch as Noah dropped his fork noisily; he merely smiled serenely, draining the milk tea from his cup. He was just about to bite into his final biscuit when Leann came rushing over again.**

**"Is there… is there anything else I might do for you?" she asked, and Ezra's smile widened.**

**"Yes, as a matter of fact. Do you sell whole cheesecake?" he asked, his tone serious. She nodded, somewhat apprehensive.**

**"Yes, we offer… erm… chocolate, chocolate brownie, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, caramel chocolate pecan-"**

**"Yes, that one," Ezra said abruptly, nodding. "The last one. If you don't mind," he added, offering a small smile. Leann flushed again, nodding.**

**"And… anymore tea?" she asked, wavering slightly.**

**"Oh no, thank you. I don't suppose my friend here could stand anymore tea if he tried." He looked at Noah mischievously. Leann faltered for a moment, opening her mouth to speak; she decided against it, however, and rushed off to fetch a cheesecake.**

**"Anyway," Ezra murmured again, breaking his biscuit in half. "As I was saying… yes, I'm looking to own the broomstick company my father invested in. I can't handle it all on my own, though, of course, so I'll need a business partner… of sorts."**

**He popped half of the biscuit into his mouth with a crunch. At Noah's question, he looked up, unfazed.**

**"_Nimbus_," he said simply, polishing off the last bit of biscuit. "The founder and my father were schoolmates."**

* * *

Noah stared at Ezra like he'd grown a second head for a very long time, stuck between a sense of perplexity and an unexpected urge to giggle.

The waitress came and went before Noah found his voice again. "The Nimbus company could very well be the best company in a few years, if they keep up their pace," he whispered dazedly. "They have the most well-balanced brooms by far and they could get even better! And you own it?!"

He stared at the other boy moment longer while the rest of his words sank in. "A business partner…" he repeated, at a loss. Then, slowly, the words made sense. "Oh!" He blinked. Had Greengrass meant what he thought he meant?

He cleared his throat and shuffled on the seat to gain some time. Maybe if he stopped looking like an idiot, he could stop feeling like one. He gave Ezra the most serious look he could manage in that situation. "You're planning to buy the Nimbus company and get involved in creating and developing racing broomsticks?" He asked to make sure he'd heard him well. "And you want…"

He paused there, studying the other boy's dark eyes, narrowing his slightly. This last bit surprised him the most. "You want me to be your partner?"

* * *

**"Yes, that is my hope," Ezra said dryly, smirking again. He couldn't deny, though, that having Noah on his side in this matter would be a good personal and business decision. "I don't own it yet, but I do have reason to believe that my only competitor could be persuaded to sell."**

**He drummed his fingers on the table idly. Then, he looked up at Noah, fighting the urge to laugh.**

**It was like seeing a young boy on Christmas morning.**

**"I believe that's what I said, yes," he replied. "Only if you're interested, of course. I'll give you some time to think about it."**

**Leann reappeared with a large white box. She held it out to Ezra, who took in gingerly. It was tied with a large red bow. The poor girl was still blushing.**

**"Thank you, Leann," Ezra said offhandedly. "You've been most helpful." He fished around in his wallet for a moment, procuring another fifty-pound note. He handed it to her.**

**"The change is your tip," he told her without looking up. He gave Noah a sideways glance.**

**"Let's go, then," he said. "I don't want to miss the television."**

* * *

Noah broke into a wide, thrilled grin. Having the possibility to develop a racing broomstick? That was so much more than he could ever expect to achieve… He had ideas, of course, plenty of them, actually! He'd actually tried to build one, once, when he was thirteen, but the project died young. He wasn't very good at handcrafting it at the time and he wouldn't know how to make it fly anyway.

"Are you serious?! I don't need to think. I'd love to be a part of that!" He said excitedly, struggling to regain his composure when Leann returned.

He made a choked sound on the back of his throat at the girl's expression when she took the fifty-pound note, and decided it was best to get Ezra out of the streets for now, and quickly.

They got out on the street and headed back towards the mansion. Noah hesitated, not sure if he should be the one bursting Greengrass' bubble of excitement or let someone else do it. He decided he'd had his share for the day and Jo could handle the Slytherin from then on. His boyfriend would have to remind him that he couldn't watch television until they installed the electricity.

He walked silently, distracted by the proposition Ezra had made him. He had been able to keep it out of his thoughts for the most part because they were on the run, but the truth was, now that he'd lost his chances in Quidditch, he had no idea what to do with himself. He hadn't done so well in his NEWTs and he'd never focused on anything else other than flying, really.

Would he really be able to do that?! The idea was quite daunting.

When he realized, they were standing in front of the mansion. He looked around, then at Ezra. "Seems like we beat them," he said teasingly.

* * *

**"Good," Ezra said solemnly as Noah dragged him out of the small tea shop. "Good."**

**It was tiresome, carrying the cheesecake all the way back to the mansion, but Ezra decided that it was all good for character building. He had wanted to learn about Muggle life, after all. This was how Muggles carried things.**

**No wonder so many Muggles were so muscular.**

**When they arrived at the front of the gate, Ezra frowned and flipped open his pocket watch. Only 40 minutes had passed, so he couldn't say that they were late...**

**"Yes, it seems so," he mused. The gate swung open as he approached, and he carried the cheesecake inside. Johnston and Daniella were tucked behind one of the small tables in the guest dining room.**

**Jo looked up and smiled.**

**"How was it?" he asked brightly, flipping through a notebook. Ezra wondered what was in it.**

* * *

Noah walked into the house, glad to get out of the brisk breeze, following Ezra closely to meet the others.

He circled the table and pulled a chair to sit next to Jo. He was still grinning when he kissed his boyfriend's temple. "Quite the adventure!" He said brightly. "But, as far as we can tell, everyone survived, unscathed; including Greengrass."

He looked at Daniella, who had three different catalogues, he realized after a closer look, scattered on the table in front of her and two more piled up to the side. "Wait until you see the size of the television we bought," he said, in a warning tone.

Daniella raised an eyebrow at Noah, then searched Ezra's eyes. "How big is it?"

* * *

**Ezra put the box of cheesecake on the table and pulled out a chair, sinking into it lightly. Every few moments, he looked furtively at the door.**

**Jo smiled as Noah kissed his temple, flipping through a catalog of bridesmaid dresses. At the mention of the television, he raised his eyebrows. He looked first at Dan, then to Ezra, who was looking incredibly impatient.**

**Ezra pursed his lips and looked away from Daniella's gaze guiltily.**

**"It's… large," Ezra afforded in a low mumble.**

**At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Ezra sprang up, then stopped. He looked around, panicked.**

**"What do I say?" he whispered, his eyes wide. Jo rolled his eyes, raising himself from his seated position and pulling away from Noah to walk to the door and open it to reveal an older man in denim overalls.**

**Jo smiled.**

**"Got a telly for delivery to this address," the man said gruffly, and Josiah nodded.**

**"Aye, come on in," he murmured, motioning inside.**

**"Bring 'er in, Jer," the man called over his shoulder.**

* * *

Daniella started to get up, curious to see exactly what they'd bought, then remembered her wand was still on the table. She quickly slipped it between the pages of a catalog and looked around, trying to see if there was anything else blatantly magical in sight.

"Did you warn the elves not to show up?" She murmured to Ezra a bit nervously. She'd never had Muggles in her house before. She paused, uneasy. Her house?!

But she didn't have time to think about that before two men came into the room carrying a rather large box. Her eyes widened. "Is that the television?" She asked Noah, who had come to stand at her side.

He nodded, still grinning, with a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Where do you want us to put it?" One of the men asked, setting the heavy looking box down and looking at each of them in turn.

Noah and Daniella both looked at Ezra questioningly.

* * *

**Ezra's eyes sparkled as Josiah guided the men into the house. He gave Daniella a poorly concealed look of excitement, which was cut short by one of the deliverymen asking a question.**

**"Sorry?" Ezra said instinctively, blinking once.**

**"Where d'you want it?" the man repeated, patiently.**

**"Oh, erm, just over there by the wall should do, I expect…" he said, motioning to the far wall behind some fancy, comfortable-looking armchairs. The men picked up the television again with a grunt of effort and began carrying it, slowly, over to the aforementioned wall.**

**"Blimey," said the man with a mustache as they rested the television on the floor. "Looks bigger on the inside, innit?"**

**Josiah, who had been hovering nervously to the side, looked momentarily panicked.**

**"Oh, well, it's really just a trick of the light," he said kindly, clearing his throat and looking at the others for confirmation. "Really, thank you very much. How delightful. And large."**

**Ezra rubbed the tip of his polished loafers guiltily on the carpet.**

**"Nah, it's no trouble. You lot enjoy that. Do ye want us to hook up the console bitty-bob?" he asked, holding up the Odyssey in one hand.**

* * *

Noah, who was trying his best to keep a straight face, nodded at Jo's words. He jumped in immediately at the mention of the Odyssey device, reaching out for it.

"I'll take that, thank you!" He said hastily.

The older man was looking behind the box at the wall, looking for a place to plug it in. If they noticed there wasn't even electricity in the house yet, they'd just start asking more difficult questions. "I'm sure I can figure it out," he said with a confident smirk. Hopefully, he added to himself.

Daniella wandered a little closer to the box, looking at the drawings on it, intrigued.

There was a moment of awkward silence, until Noah poked Ezra teasingly. "Give them a tip, they had all this work getting the telly in here!"

* * *

**"Ah? Oh, yes, yes, of course. Forgive me," Ezra murmured, fishing out his wallet for the third time that day. He pulled out two fifty pound notes and handed one to each of them. They stared at him for a moment, stunned.**

**At their looks, Ezra wondered for a single horrified moment if he had undertipped.**

**"That's… that's right generous of you, sir, that is," said Jer, taking off his hat for a moment before pulling it back onto his mostly-bald head. "We'll be off, then. You lot just call if there's anything y'need. C'mon, Ern," he said, nudging the other man, who was slightly frozen on the spot.**

**Once they were gone, Ezra looked at Noah, who was still holding the small grey box.**

**"Did I not give enough?" he asked worriedly, furrowing his eyebrows.**

**"No no, you did… fine…" Josiah murmured, clearing his throat. "More than enough, really. Er, too much, if I'm honest with ye. But we'll work on that," he said brightly, looking from Noah to Ezra to Dan.**

**"Do we call the e-lec-trishan now?" Ezra asked in much the same manner a child might ask after Santa on Christmas morning.**

**Josiah rubbed at his temple before looking over at the large grandfather clock in the corner.**

* * *

It was still funny, Noah decided, biting his lips, but making a choked sound at the back of his throat that was almost, but not quite, a giggle. He looked intently at the small box in his hands instead of at Ezra. Then he gave up and just laughed.

It took him a whole minute to control himself. He cleared his throat and looked at Jo with watery eyes. "He did the same to the waitress in the bakery. Paid with a fifty-pound note and said she could keep the change," he told Jo, shaking his head with amusement.

"Oh, right," he said, remembering the list of names he'd written down. He put the small grey box on top of the television box carefully and searched his pockets.

"I wasn't sure how to take care of things with the electrician, so I just copied all the names Larry showed us at the store; it's a list of independent contractors." He handed the list to Jo. "Do you know what we need to do about that?"

* * *

**Jo's mouth twitched dangerously at the corners and threatened to part in a hearty, full laugh. At the crestfallen look on Ezra's face, however, he stopped himself. He cleared his throat again.**

**"Well," he said soothingly, checking the time again. "It's all right, that, isn't it? You've just… made a lot of people very happy today, is all. We'll have a lesson on tipping in short order. But in the meantime, I'd better get on the phone if you want to have it hooked up by next week."**

**"Thank you," Ezra said abruptly, with utmost sincerity. Jo raised his eyebrows a bit.**

**"Aye, you're welcome…" he murmured, laughing a bit. "I'll be back in a mo', then. I'm just going to find a payphone. Noah, do you have any quarters?"**

**Ezra found his way over to Daniella, looking positively invigorated.**

**"Well? What do you think of it?" he asked, surveying the massive television proudly.**

* * *

Noah made his best to stop laughing. After all, Ezra had bought the game device at his request. "I have some here, hold on." He searched his pockets again, pulling out a handful of coins and separating the Muggle coins from the knuts he'd forgotten he had in his pocket.

He found the ones he needed and handed Jo all the Muggle coins he had, slipping the others back into his pocket.

Daniella gave Ezra a sideways glance. "It's… big," she said solemnly. The television they'd had in the condo was tiny, compared to this box. She turned her head to him. He looked a little bit too excited to be comforting. With a small sigh, she smirked at him. "Promise me I won't have to drag you away from it every night," she asked, trying not to sound desperate.

* * *

**Josiah cupped his hands to receive the coins that Noah jingled into them. He smiled, scooping them up and counting out three.**

**"Ta," he said, leaning up to kiss Noah's cheek. "Back in a jiffy. By the by, what's for lunch?" he asked on his way out the door, looking worried. "Lost myself in those catalogs, I did. Now I'm starved."**

**Before Ezra could answer, the door clicked shut. He turned to Daniella instead, smirking in return.**

**"Would you drag me? That sounds rather like fun," he purred, smiling into the side of her face. "It's only a small luxury, darling. I promise I'll behave."**

**With that, he turned to call out into the open space across the entry hall.**

**"Binky?"**

**There was a loud crack, and Binky swayed on his feet before them. He offered a small, watery smile.**

**"Master Ezra, sir?"**

**"Has lunch been prepared? Master Ledger and I have had tea, but I believe the others might be feeling peckish." He looked up at Daniella to confirm this.**

* * *

Daniella returned the smile with a wicked smirk. "Oh, I'm sure I can find better ways to convince you, before I need to drag you," she murmured. She looked at the television again. "Maybe you can show me what's so good you need a contraption this large to watch it."

"I'm still hungry," Noah said immediately, when Binky showed up. "That cheesecake just gave me a bigger appetite!"

Daniella nodded to both of them. "Yes, lunch would be nice. We got… distracted, by those catalogues and forgot to eat. Would you please bring us something to eat, Binky? Master Jo should be back soon."

She went back to the table and started piling up the catalogues, marking the pages she'd been selecting. "By the way," she started, looking back at her fiancé. "Would you like to hire a band, or someone to play at the reception?"


	31. The Johnstons

_**Chapter 31 - The Johnstons**_

Daniella looked at the notes she'd been taking and rubbed her eyes. The planning was going quite well, considering she'd never planned a wedding in her life; or really anything else, for that matter.

There were only a couple of things left to sort out, that she had been trying to delay. One of those things, she was sure about, she just wasn't sure it would be possible. The other…

She looked up at her best friend, sitting across the table. "Jo?" She called tentatively. "Would you like to be my…" She hesitated, frowning. Was it even possible? "My _bridesman_?"

* * *

**Josiah was leafing through a few glossy magazine pages absentmindedly. He loved wedding planning, of course; he'd been looking forward to this moment for years, and was determined to realize it again at June's wedding and, eventually, at Pearl's. However, one man could only tolerate so much organza and rhinestones before he devolved into a panicked frenzy.**

**Jo had to admit to himself that, even with all this talk of weddings, he hadn't expected the word 'bridesman' to come into play. Merlin's pants, was that even a real word? He pondered this for only a moment before beaming widely at his best friend, flopping the magazine closed so that he could look at her with his full attention.**

**"I've no earthly idea what a bridesman is, love, but I'd love to be yours," he affectionately. A thought hit him a moment later. "Have you talked with Ezra about it? You know," he said, solemnly. "I mean, he doesn't exactly have…"**

**The sentence trailed off uneasily. He hadn't thought that far ahead.**

* * *

Daniella's bright grin at Jo's reply faded quickly. "No, I haven't…" she admitted. He was right… Ezra didn't have many options. She'd thought he might ask Noah, since they were getting closer lately, but what if he wanted to ask Jo instead? Daniella wasn't willing to take that option away from him.

She met Jo's eyes. "If he asks you, you should accept, if you want. I can ask June…" She added, shrugging a little and smiling briefly at him.

She liked June very much, but if she was honest with herself, it wasn't the same. Jo was very important to her and, in the most important day of her short life, she wanted him to be up there, by her side. Feeling awkward, she quickly added apologetically, "I like June a lot, really, but… It's just that you're… you."

* * *

**"I'll talk to Noah about it," Jo offered quickly, not wanting to spoil the moment with unnecessary details. They still had plenty of time to figure everything out. "Anyway, I don't think anyone in their right mind would stand between me and your hair on your wedding day."**

**He winked.**

**=/=/=**

**"Perhaps one of Master Ezra's cousins would be suitable for the role?" Pokey suggested tentatively as she brushed the back of Ezra's black dinner jacket with extreme care. Ezra, who was staring into the mirror but not seeing anything in particular, gave a distracted grunt.**

**"Merlin, no," he sighed. "Not after everything that's happened, certainly." Pokey nodded in silent understanding; for a few moments, the only sound was the scraping of the firm bristles against finest quality velvet.**

**"I did think of asking Ledger," he said offhandedly, after the small elf had finished brushing. He buttoned the coat absentmindedly. "But I'd hate for him to feel as though… well, as though I'm only asking him because there's no one else. Of course, there isn't anyone else, not really."**

**Pokey wobbled on her feet, mouthing wordlessly for a moment as though she wasn't certain she should say anything at all.**

**"Pokey thinks… Pokey thinks that whomever Master Ezra asks should be honored, yes, because it is a great honor," he said finally.**

**He smiled.**

**"Thank you, Pokey. Are the others already in the dining room?"**

**"Yes, Master Ezra, sir," said Pokey mid-bow. "Except for Mistress Sparks, who has retired to the second floor west wing for the evening, sir, as per your orders, sir."**

**"Yes, I suppose she is," he murmured. "How are things downstairs?"**

**In Ezra's vernacular, 'downstairs' had always referred to the elf-quarters; Pokey had always been very good about keeping him up-to-date on the latest gossip among the elves. They told her things they wouldn't dare tell him, sometimes to their detriment.**

**They were his charges, now. He had to make sure they were taken care of…**

**"Everything is very good, Master Ezra, sir, very good indeed! Pokey is still sad sometimes, yes, but Pokey is also delighted that Master Ezra has come home. Pinky did have a fit earlier, though, sir, because Pinky says, 'Master Johnston will not let me fit him for a proper dinner jacket!', and Pinky was very upset, sir," the elf finished dutifully.**

**Ezra snorted out a laugh.**

**"I see," he mused, smiling. "Thank you, Pokey. I'll go downstairs now. You should go and wash up."**

* * *

Noah made his way to Ezra's room, not completely sure about the whole situation. Jo had told him about his talk with Daniella. Personally, Noah wasn't sure Ezra wanted him to be his best man, but he'd surprised him more than enough times in the past. If they were going to work together, then Ezra must like him, at least a little bit.

He supposed – mostly because he'd feel the same way – that if Ezra really wanted to ask him, he'd feel more comfortable if there was no one else around, so he'd left the others in the dining room and came upstairs looking for the Slytherin.

He raised his closed hand to knock on his bedroom door when it opened. Seeing no one on the other side, he looked down and found Pokey. He lowered his hand. "Oh, hello, Pokey. Is Ezra in here?"

* * *

**"Oh!" Pokey reeled dramatically, looking up at Noah with wide, watery eyes. "One million apologies, Master Ledger! Pokey did not see Master Ledger there!"**

**At the tall boy's question, she looked momentarily thoughtful.**

**"Master Ezra has only just left for the downstairs parlor," Pokey informed him obediently. "Would Master Ledger like Pokey to relay a message to Master Ezra? Or perhaps Pokey can show Master Ledger the way to the parlor? Although Pokey does not mean to imply that Master Ledger is lost," the elf said kindly.**

* * *

Noah smiled. "It's alright, Pokey, no need to apologize." He looked down, a bit disappointed. It was a really big house to be walking up and down for no reason. "It's ok, it wasn't important. I can find my way to the parlor, but thanks for the offer." He winked at her. "I'll see you later, then."

He made his way back down to the parlor in his quick stride, thinking Ezra was turning out to be a lot of work. He called out when he spotted them at the parlor. "There you are, Greengrass."

He caught up with the Slytherin and slipped his hands into his pockets. "I was starting to think you'd skip dinner tonight." He grinned teasingly. "Feeling nervous yet?"

* * *

**Ezra had been looking into a meticulously polished silver dinner tray when Noah's arrival startled him; his hand met the tray with a small clatter, and he gripped it firmly to muffle the noise. He turned, cleared his throat, and offered the other boy a sarcastic half-smile.**

**"Here I am," he said dryly, but not unkindly. "Technically everyone attending dinner is supposed to meet in the parlor beforehand to socialize, but I'd forgotten that I was the only one who knew that."**

**He stared at his shoes pensively.**

**"I'm oddly numb at the moment," he murmured honestly, rubbing his nose informally with one hand and turning his gaze to Noah finally. "More tired than nervous, really. But there's plenty of time for all of that yet."**

**He slipped his hands into the pockets of his steam-pressed trousers and leaned against the wall.**

**"Speaking of 'all of that'…" he murmured, looking over to the side at nothing in particular. "There was one other thing I hoped we might talk about before then."**

* * *

Noah blinked confusedly. "Socialize? Isn't that what we do the rest of the day, already?"

He met Ezra's eyes, although he couldn't figure out what he saw there. "Considering how frantic Jo and Dan have been, I'm surprised neither of them has gotten on your nerves yet."

He narrowed his eyes, then leaned against the opposite wall. "Well, it's socializing time, so shoot," he said, amused.

* * *

**"This is the formal sort of socializing," Ezra replied. "The kind where you talk about matters of business, public niceties, and elitist gossip. Then, after dinner, there's more socializing. But that's the kind with a cigar and an after-dinner glass of brandy."**

**He smirked grimly.**

**"I wouldn't say they've been getting on my nerves. It's fascinating, really, that kind of energy." He sighed. "I'm determined to stay out of it until the absolute last moment, you understand. As far as I'm concerned, all that matters is that Daniella and I are committed to each other. The rest is pomp and circumstance."**

**He picked at the leaf of a magically-grown flower in an expensive-looking vase on the table beside him.**

**"That being said," he murmured quietly, after Noah had given his consent to conversation. "Pomp and circumstance dictates that I need a best man. I was wondering if you'd… not that there's any pressure, of course. But, if you'd like. I'd… certainly appreciate it."**

**He had expected the words to be hard, but they came out a little easier than he'd anticipated. He looked up at Noah momentarily, then quickly back at his shoes.**

* * *

Noah wrinkled his nose. "Sounds… fun," he said sarcastically. "Are we supposed to do that every day now that we live here?"

He snorted at his friend's words. "I certainly hope you haven't said that to Dan. I said something similar the other day, when they were discussing heatedly about colors. If looks could kill, she'd be a very efficient assassin," he said seriously. Not to mention Jo, he thought to himself.

He looked pensive for a few moments, as if giving the question a long thought. "I'm already being forced to wear a tie, so why not?" He said lightly, grinning at Ezra. A moment later, he added seriously, "I'd be honored. But you do realize asking me means you'll have anything but 'pomp and circumstance', right?" He asked with mock seriousness.

* * *

**Ezra puffed out his cheeks in a heavy sigh that morphed into a dry chuckle.**

**"No, I suppose there's no point to it now," he murmured, looking around at the well-kept room. It was perfect in every way, of course, just as his parents had preferred it. He found it stuffy and unwelcoming. He looked down at his dinner jacket, then, realizing that, without even giving it a second thought, he had dressed for a full, formal dinner on a Friday night for a group of three people whom he'd been living with - and dining with, sometimes in his pajamas - for months.**

**"I'll see about doing something else with the room, I expect," he murmured, silently vowing to also loosen the dress code. It might give the older house elves a shock, but they would all adjust in time.**

**He looked up at Noah, bemused, when he mentioned colors.**

**"Is it possible to be so vehement about colors?" he asked under his breath, frowning. He already knew the answer, though, and shook the unpleasant thought out of his mind. "You'll do it, then?" he asked after a moment, searching the other boy's eyes. It wasn't too long ago that they had been at each other's throats, not really; he realized in that moment that he'd become quite fond of Noah's friendship in a very short period of time.**

**He smiled a warm, genuine smile.**

**"Thank you," he murmured. "Merlin knows we can use a bit less pomp and circumstance around here, anyway."**

**One of the service elves appeared, then, bowing so that his ears dangled barely above the carpet.**

**"Dinner is served, Master," said the elf in a surprisingly deep voice.**

**"Yes, thank you, Ringo," Ezra replied with a small smile. "Shall we, then?" He gave Noah a look that was half sarcasm and half amusement.**

* * *

Noah followed Ezra's look around the room. "I suppose it'll still be useful for business dinners and such… We are going to work in a big broomstick company, after all," he smirked, realizing for the first time that, as different as the new living arrangements were for him and Jo, it was second nature to Ezra.

He looked at the other boy's formal clothes more closely. Maybe they could all make an effort to compromise, but there was no way they were going to make him dress up for dinner every day.

"Obviously! There's a world of difference between forest-green and mossy-green, from what I gathered before I ran away." He gave Ezra a wide smile. "Yeah, I'll do it. Not sure what I'm supposed to do, exactly, but I'm sure I'll be lectured in that soon enough."

Noah followed Ezra and took his seat next to Jo, leaning in and murmuring lightly, "Problem solved."

After they had settled, Daniella searched Ezra's eyes. "Have you tried on your clothes yet? If they need any adjustments, you'll need to see to that as soon as possible."

* * *

**Jo smiled at Noah with a glint of humor in his eye; he wasn't sure his boyfriend was entirely aware of what a best man did, but it warmed his heart to know that he did care enough about Ezra to follow through with the offer.**

**There was no doubt in his mind that Noah had the biggest heart of anyone he knew.**

**"Ah," said Ezra, slightly caught off-guard by Daniella's question. He thought of the sharply pressed brown tuxedo that had seen hanging in his closet when he'd gone to change that morning; he had wondered where it had come from. "Erm, no, not yet." He looked up at Daniella sheepishly and offered a small, hopeful smile. "I'll be sure to let you know. When are the Johnstons coming?" he asked, hoping that this was a safer change of topic.**

**"They're due to fly in at nine," Jo replied, mouth full. Ezra's eyebrows furrowed.**

**"Fly in?" he repeated, politely uncertain.**

**"On an airplane," Jo elaborated kindly. "Er… like a large lorry with wings-"**

**"I've heard of aircraft before," Ezra mumbled, looking a bit petulant. "It was just that your choice of words was unclear. Are we to pick them up, then?" he asked expectantly, rubbing his hands on his dinner napkin.**

**Josiah, who had pursed his lips at Ezra's jab, sighed lightly.**

**"I had meant to go on my own, to save you lot the trouble," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'd hate to cause a big fuss."**

**"Nonsense," Ezra said abruptly. "We'll all go."**

**He had only just finished this declaration when there was an irritable shout from the east staircase.**

**"I'm not a bloody invalid!" Alisa yelled at a cowering but determined elf. "I'll have dinner at a table if I should so like!"**

**"But, Mistress-"**

**"Don't call me that," Alisa snapped.**

**Ezra, who was quick on the reuptake of his mental faculties, stood from the table, which effectively drew the attention to him.**

**"Is there a problem?" he asked Alisa levelly, putting utmost care into not sounding condescending. She barked out a short laugh at his question; he steeled himself for an acid reply.**

**"Yes, apparently there's a problem with me using my two good legs to come downstairs so that I can have some bloody dinner," she said sarcastically, pointing at Ringo the house elf. "And that's not the half of it, but I can't have a proper vent until I've had food. Call them off me."**

**Ezra cleared his throat.**

**"Ringo," he murmured, almost apologetically. The house elf cracked into thin air, and Alisa rolled her eyes. She didn't look any happier.**

**"You are… welcome to join us," he added carefully, slowly lowering himself back into his chair.**

**"Don't get all high and mighty with me, Greengrass," she warned, sitting a full chair away from Noah. In the full light of the dining room, her bruised eyes and pale skin were much more obvious.**

* * *

Daniella looked from Jo to Ezra. She nodded vigorously at Ezra's decision to go with Jo. She was quite curious about the airplanes Jo. She didn't enjoy flying, but if they were closed compartments, she thought they must be a lot better than broomsticks. If Muggles really could keep them in the air, that was…

They all stopped eating to watch as the drama unfolded between Alisa and the elf. Daniella raised an eyebrow at the girl as she sat, trying to remember if the Ravenclaw hadn't helped, they would most likely not be there right now, planning their wedding.

Noah gave Alisa a sideways grin. "Clearly your lungs are in perfect health too, huh?" He asked lightly.

* * *

**Alisa was stuffing food into her face gracelessly. At Noah's words, she snorted derisively; a few crumbs of dinner fell onto the table.**

**"We need to talk before I go home," she said to Ezra after she'd finished chewing. Ezra, looking mildly alarmed, cleared his throat.**

**"Yes, alright," he said passively, picking at the asparagus on his plate.**

**"About what?" Jo asked curiously, turning to look at the frail blonde girl.**

**"Never you mind," Alisa said dismissively. "It's nothing you'd be interested in in any case."**

**"And Ezra will be?" Jo said doubtfully, apparently the only one with no qualms about raising concerns about Alisa's plan. Ezra thought that it must be some sort of Ravenclaw habit to debate openly like this; he only hoped that he could stay out of it while they talked about him like he wasn't there. His eyes flicked up to meet Daniella's, but only briefly.**

**"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it," Ezra said finally, too quietly to be forceful, but even so, his voice carried weight.**

**Alisa rolled her eyes mid-chew.**

**"Well, I need to talk to both of you, really," she murmured, referring to Daniella with a nod of her head and dabbing at her mouth unceremoniously with the napkin. "But I suppose it can't be helped."**

**Josiah made a rude noise in the back of his throat. ****"Don't be a pill," he snipped.**

* * *

Daniella snapped to attention and turned her head to look at Alisa. The question burning on her tongue came from Jo instead. Her eyes shifted to Ezra, then back to Alisa.

When Alisa included her on the mysterious discussion she wanted to have, she didn't feel easier about it, like she thought she would have. What could she possibly want from them? Alisa, of all people, who had previously seemed so convinced Daniella and Ezra were dark wizards?

That reminded Daniella of the couple of situations she and Alisa had actually talked to each other. Neither of them had ended peacefully.

Noah, who was sitting in front of Jo and next to Alisa, was torn between feeling curious and cautious with Jo's reaction. Curiosity won. He looked intently at Alisa. "Yes, I remember now. You said you were going to save them because you needed their help! What's up?" He asked with shameless curiosity.

* * *

**"I beg your pardon?" Ezra said upon hearing Noah's revelation. He gave Alisa a cold, distrustful look. Alisa snorted.**

**"You're pardoned, Greengrass. No need to beg." She crossed her fork and knife on her dinner plate and folded her hands together so she could rest her chin on them. She looked from Jo, to Noah, to Dan, and finally to Ezra.**

**She didn't seem fazed by the way the conversation was turning against her.**

**"Have you heard of the Order of the Phoenix?" she asked finally to relative silence. Ezra furrowed his eyebrows.**

**"No," he said, his tone still guarded.**

**"Well, they've heard about you," she said slyly. She took a sip of red wine from the nearest crystal glass, of which there were several dotting the table. "It was quite impressive, that little stunt you pulled with the Fiendfyre."**

**"It wasn't a stunt. We nearly died," Ezra spat shortly, pulling his hands away from his plate and looking away. "I don't like where this conversation is going, Sparks. I'm immeasurably grateful for what you've done for Daniella and I, but even so-"**

**"But this isn't your war?" she cut him off sarcastically. "Nevermind your parents, Greengrass, or all those innocent people in Stonehaven who ended up being collateral damage in your little spat-"**

**"Shut up," Ezra snapped, meeting her gaze. "I never meant… I never meant for anyone to die," he finished in a half-whisper. "You have no idea what it was like."**

**"No, but you do," Alisa murmured. "And that's why we need you. Both of you," she added, turning her gaze to Daniella for a brief moment. "Time is running out for you to declare a side. You might know Dark Magic, Greengrass, but that doesn't make you a bad wizard, does it? I don't think so. But if you do nothing…"**

**Ezra clenched his jaw, but said nothing.**

**"We'll continue this conversation another time," he said lowly, standing up to full height. "We have business to attend to this evening." He looked at Josiah, who nodded. Then, he turned to Daniella.**

**"In that case, we should get ready," he murmured to her, indicating that he wanted to talk to her privately.**

* * *

Daniella tensed as Alisa's discussion with Ezra went on. She exhaled slowly through her nose, her teeth clenched.

Here it was. The moment she'd so foolishly hoped she could avoid, in spite of all that had happened. She had no idea what that 'Order of the Phoenix' was, but it wasn't hard to figure out it was some sort of group of rebels to fight that war. And now they wanted her to choose a side; to stand openly against Logan.

One thing was wanting to get away from him, wanting him to leave her alone, but chasing him… Alisa's final words echoed in her mind. She knew what he was now; she couldn't deny what he'd become or what he was doing, and how wrong it was. But…

She looked down at her plate, then up at Ezra, immensely grateful for the chance to get out of there. "Yes," she said in a low voice, putting down her napkin and quickly getting up to follow Ezra out of the room.

"We'll meet you at the Hall, alright?" She asked Jo, not quite looking him in the eyes.

Noah had the good sense to stay quiet until they left the dining room. He waited a few moments, then broke the silence. "So, what exactly does this Order do?" He asked with great interest.

* * *

**Josiah stared at his plate blankly. The heat of his temper had faded into a hollow, uncertain feeling. He wasn't sure he preferred it over anger.**

**"We've seen enough fighting," he cut across Noah with a reproachful look. Then, he looked at Alisa pleadingly. "They're about to get married," he said, stressing the idea.**

**"A lot of people are about to die," she replied simply, eyeing her friend critically. "But I'll concede your point. I'm leaving tonight - this bloody palace is driving me bonkers. Have your wedding, and then we'll talk. But you'd better be prepared to listen then," she said, standing.**

**Josiah looked at her for a long moment, then looked away.**

**"Because you know I'm right," she pressed.**

**He sighed. She slowly made her way back up the steps; once she had disappeared from view, Jo looked at Noah and took a deep, slow breath.**

**"Well," he said, after a few moments of silence. "After all that excitement, I'm not sure I can handle my parents."**

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Ezra was feeling so incredibly dazed that Daniella was having to lead him around the twists and turns of the airport by the hand. He looked over at her every now and then, practically buzzing with repressed excitement.**

**"I've never seen so many Muggles," he whispered, awe-struck. Josiah looked back at him, giving him an amused look.**

**"You live in London," the shorter boy said, while wielding a terminal map in one hand.**

**"Wizarding London," Ezra corrected, somewhat reproachfully.**

**"Shhh," Jo murmured distractedly, hushing him effectively. "Aye, I think this is it up here," he told them definitively, looking at his watch. They were two minutes early, which was practically negligible in airport time, as far as he knew.**

**Josiah looked up at Noah, smiling nervously.**

**"Ooh, look, a Pizza Hut," he said after a moment, trying to distract himself. "I'd heard they'd been putting them in the airports. I don't think I could stomach it, myself. Flying makes me dreadfully nervous - oh, there they are," he said quickly, reaching up his arm to wave wildly. His mother waved wildly back, beaming.**

**Ezra looked on with rapt interest.**

* * *

Daniella held Ezra's hand more tightly than usual, while she looked around with interest.

She'd stood still for a full minute, looking up at the televisions hanging from the ceiling; the screens were filled with numbers and town names and times and other words that kept changing.

When she thought she was starting to make sense of it, she realized Jo was way ahead of them, and she lost him in the crowd for a moment. Panicking, she'd hurried to catch up and was now walking as close to him as she could without stepping on him.

She'd tried to ignore the knot on her stomach, but when Jo waved at someone, she glanced at her fiancé anxiously. She was really nervous and she didn't know why. Or maybe she did.

She loved Ezra with all in her and nothing would change that. But still, on some level she wanted this meeting to go well; she wanted Mrs. Johnston and the others to like Ezra, just like she wanted Ezra to like them. Was this how a girl with a normal family was supposed to feel when she introduced her future husband to her parents? She had never felt that way about any other boy she'd gotten involved with and she had definitely never felt that need of approval from her parents.

It was an unsettling thought; she tried to push it aside as she spotted Jo's mother waving back at them.

"I see them!" She grinned widely and waved at Mrs. Johnston, standing on her toes, trying to see the others as well.

She found Mr. Johnston, who pulled someone by the hand – little Pearl, she realized with amusement – while pushing a trolley with their luggage. And, right behind them, with that unmistakable shiny, long blonde hair, came June. Daniella noticed that a few heads turned to look as the older girl passed by.

Standing next to Jo, on the other side, was Noah, feeling as nervous as Daniella, or even more so. More than ever, he wanted to take Jo's hand, wanted to take comfort from his boyfriend's touch; but he wasn't sure what he should do, or how any of his gestures would be received by Jo's family, so he stood there, hands in his pockets, smiling awkwardly despite the butterflies playing Quidditch in his stomach, glancing at his boyfriend every now and then.

* * *

**Jo bent down to pick up some of the bags that his father was struggling to carry. When he righted himself, he offered them a large, somewhat tired grin.**

**"How was the flight, then?" he asked breathlessly, adjusting Pearl's pink overnight bag over his shoulder without so much as a second thought. "Have you seen the Pizza Hut? Feels like an episode of Doctor Who, innit? Time travel and the like…"**

**"Oh my stars," his mother said, putting a hand over her chest. "Well, it is London, isn't it? Hello, Noah dear," she said offhandedly, looking first to the Pizza Hut and then fondly at the taller blond boy. She patted his muscular shoulder gently and beamed. "It is good to see you again. Isn't it, Cole?"**

**Fern nudged her husband slightly with her elbow; the older, red-faced man was still gazing longingly at the Pizza Hut.**

**"Hm? Oh, aye, aye, jolly good, that's a fact. Don't suppose you rode your motorbike here?" he asked with a rugged wink. "Always did want one of them…"**

**"I can't bear the thought," said Fern darkly, turning immediately to Dan and brightening like sunshine. "Daniella," she said simply, wrapping the girl into a tight hug. "Have you been getting my letters? Oh, I was so happy when I heard. I cried, I did. And this must be…" she trailed off, looking at Ezra with an expectant smile.**

**A beat of silence passed before Ezra stuttered to life.**

**"Ezra," he supplied hastily, smiling a small, nervous smile. "Greengrass. Ezra Greengrass." He hovered anxiously, realizing that he wasn't sure how to greet the older woman. After a moment's hesitation, she pulled him into a brisk hug.**

**He blinked, but not unkindly.**

**"You are a dear," she said fondly, patting him on the shoulder, too. "And so posh, too!" she added with a wink at Dan.**

**"Can we go?" June said suddenly, moving her large suitcase from one hand to the other. "My arm's getting tired."**

**"Do we get to travel with mag-" Pearl started, but Jo cut her off with a hand over her mouth.**

**"No," he said, although he was smirking. "I've called a cab for us. Now come on."**

* * *

"It's really nice to see you too, Mrs. Johnston. How have you been?" Noah's hesitant smile grew into a wide grin and he felt more at ease. "Unfortunately not," he told Mr. Johnston, gloomily. "We've had to move out a bit suddenly and I didn't have the chance to retrieve it yet."

"I'll take that," he told June, stepping forward and taking her suitcase from her hands gently to carry it himself. He looked around, seeing what else needed carrying, then winked at Pearl. "Don't worry, Pea, you'll see plenty of that where we're going."

Daniella hugged Mrs. Johnston in return, a relieved and excited smile on her face. "Yes, I did! I'm so happy you could come!" She took Ezra's hand once more when he introduced himself, smiling at him. "This is Mrs. Johnston and her husband; this," she ruffled Pearl's hair teasingly, "is Pearl and-" she motioned at June when the older girl spoke. "And that's June, Jo's older sister," she finished more quickly.

People walked past them in all directions, some talking loudly, laughing, others carrying big trolleys with lots of bags, bumping into them every now and then. That airport was incredibly busy and showed no signs of quieting down.

She followed Jo, a little disappointed she hadn't gotten to see an airplane closely. She gave Ezra a questioning look. "Maybe I should warn you about Pea," she murmured after a while. "She asks a lot of questions."

* * *

**"Oh, we've been…" Fern started, although her smile faltered a bit. "Well, you know, with the harbor… but it's been a steady recovery," she said bravely, beaming again. "Nothing our Cole can't handle, at any rate. Pearl, don't stare," she added sternly. The young girl, who had been staring intently at Ezra with starry eyes, looked down at her shoes instead.**

**"Sorry, mum," she mumbled quietly. She brightened, however, as Noah addressed her and told her there would be magic in abundance. "Really?" she whispered, slightly hushed, as though she knew it was a secret but couldn't quite help herself.**

**"It's really lovely to meet all of you," Ezra reiterated, although the bustling crowd of the airport and the incredible newness of this situation was all incredibly jarring. "I do hope you'll find the house to your liking. If there's anything at all you should need-"**

**"Oh, nonsense, dear," said Fern amiably. "You've been so kind already, letting us stay. And June was so excited to visit London," she said, looking back at her older daughter, who in turn was looking at an attractive foreign boy who had just come in at the nearest terminal.**

**"Hmm?" the blonde murmured distractedly. "Oh, yeah, it's tops!" she said, beaming at Dan. "Congratulations, by the way! I'm ever so excited! You'll have to tell me everything. And you'd better treat her proper," she said with mock seriousness, pointing at Ezra with one manicured fingernail.**

**Ezra smiled uneasily. Jo began herding his family toward the gate and out to the cab, and Ezra looked at Dan curiously.**

**"What sort of questions?" he asked lowly. "Surely there isn't any harm."**

**He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice even more, so that it was barely audible.**

**"Do you think they like me?" he whispered.**

* * *

Daniella's smile wavered at the mention of Stonehaven. It saddened her to think of what had happened to the town. "I do hope you can rebuild everything," she said quietly. "It's such a lovely place…"

She nodded at June, as some of the frenzy she'd felt in the last few days she'd been planning the wedding returned. "I sure will! We can go out tomorrow, I'll show you a bit of London and we can talk about the party!"

Noah, who still had one free hand, offered it to Pearl, who promptly took it, since he was the only one who'd given her a taste of what was to come. Plus, he usually answered her questions, so she started blabbering happily with him as they made their way out of the airport.

"Can I play Quidditch with you this time?" Daniella heard Pea ask excitedly at some point, as Noah tried – very clumsily – to hush her, looking around quickly.

She laughed, looking back at Ezra. "Questions like that, see?" She smiled at her fiancé. "They love you!"

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Ezra rubbed one eye blearily; he'd had a bit of trouble sleeping, although everyone else seemed to be getting along well enough. Johnston had assured him that his family would think the estate was paradise - whether that was true or not, he couldn't say. It so happened that Johnston's parents retired promptly at a respectable hour, and so he hadn't seen much of them since they'd arrived.**

**Daniella had assured him that they were perfectly nice people, and that there was nothing to worry about, but there was still the matter of the harbor that was plaguing his thoughts. Hadn't they seen his face on the wanted posters? He wondered what they had thought of him in that moment, even if they no longer thought it now… More importantly, he wondered what their life must have been like, returning to a destroyed village. He'd tried to push the thoughts of that week out of his mind, but those Muggles had had to go home to the chaos.**

**It was for this reason that he'd been extra-vigilant in instructing the elves to tend to their every need, waking, sleeping, and otherwise. Even then, though, it didn't quite feel like enough.**

**He and Johnston were something of friends, now, and his family were his honored guests, but still the chasm between Pureblood and Muggle had never seemed so wide to him.**

**He pulled his thin ebony wand from the pocket of his pajamas and flicked it at the drapes covering the impossibly tall windows in the living room. They drew back elegantly, letting the early morning light flow in. At the very least, he thought, the elec-trish-un was supposed to come today.**

* * *

Pearl sighed, her arms crossed as she gave another annoyed glare at the black screen of the large telly from the couch. The sound of footsteps caught her attention and she turned her head to it, thinking it was that cute little elf again.

She'd said her name was Pinky and that she had been told to satisfy her every need, but the only thing Pearl wanted right now was to get the telly working so she could watch her morning cartoons, and that Pinky apparently could not do.

But it wasn't Pinky. It was Dan's boyfriend. Pearl turned around, kneeling on the couch and peeking over its back at the wizard boy, wide eyed. He didn't notice her. Pearl held her breath and bit her lip when he pulled out his wand and opened the drapes. She let out an involuntary squeal.

She crossed her arms on the back of the couch and studied him curiously. "Are you as good as Jo and Dan at doing magic?" She asked promptly. "Your parents are wizards too, like Dan's, aren't they?"

* * *

**The squeal startled Ezra, and he turned to the couch, expecting to see some sort of large mouse and only finding a pair of wide, curious blue eyes, a mess of long blonde hair, and a lot of questions.**

**"Er," he said in reply to her question, which had caught him rather off guard so early in the morning. "Well, yes. I should hope I am," he said thickly, stashing his wand back into his pocket. He wondered if Josiah did magic often at home; the girl seemed positively thrilled by it, which Ezra found both endearing and alarming all at once.**

**Then, his parents came up. It was a natural question, of course; harmless curiosity, and nothing more. The pang, he supposed, would fade in time. He wasn't even sure why it remained now - it wasn't as though they'd gotten along swimmingly.**

**"They were," he murmured, clearing his throat absentmindedly. "Everyone in my family, for that matter," he offered, trying to gloss the fact over carefully. "Although it's probably not quite as interesting as you'd think."**

**Hesitantly, he took a seat in the armchair beside the couch and stared, too, longingly at the powerless television.**

**"Do you watch a lot of television?" he asked after a moment, feeling that the girl owed him some information in return.**

* * *

Pearl nodded at Ezra. She was trying really hard to keep a solemn face, but the questions just piled up in her head. She'd seen so many strange things in the little time she'd been in that house, but whenever she got too excited, someone always ended up dismissing her.

"My brother is really good at it! He even turned his pajamas into a chicken once!" She said proudly, sure Ezra would find that as amazing has she did.

"Everyone?!" She whispered, her mouth forming a small 'O'. Before she could ask anything else, though, Ezra reminded her of the telly. She gave it a disappointed look. "I always watch the cartoons in the morning, when I'm not in school. Why do you have one if it doesn't work?" She asked, frowning.

* * *

**"A chicken?" Ezra repeated, both amused and puzzled by the idea. He'd never seen Johnston Transfigure anything more complicated than a piece of paper since they'd known one another. "Why on earth did he do that?"**

**He smiled grimly at the girl's fascination, nodding.**

**"My parents, my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins…" he trailed off, picking at his lip distractedly. As she mentioned school, he blinked once when he realized that Muggle school must be incredibly different from Hogwarts. "What do you study in school?" he shot back at her, feeling as though this was a meaningful cultural exchange.**

**They both looked at the television, then, and he pursed his lips.**

**"Well," he said lowly. "We don't have… e-lec-tricity yet. There's someone coming to install it today," he informed her. "And I expect it shall work after that."**

**A beat of silence passed, and he looked over at the girl curiously. She really didn't look anything like Johnston at all.**

* * *

Pearl shrugged. "I don't know, but Dan gave it to me." She grinned brightly. "I called her Missy!"

She listened intently, the television long forgotten. "I just started secondary school this autumn. We learn a lot of things, but nothing as fun as magic… I don't like mathematics, but I do like science, it's the closest to magic I can do." She looked away, not mentioning how sad she'd gotten when she hadn't received a letter from Hogwarts last summer, like Jo had when he was 11.

She quickly got over it again as she turned her attention back to the older boy. He looked very proper and grown-up. She shifted on the couch, in an attempt to sit straight. "Were you a Slytherin, like Dan? How long have you been dating?"

* * *

**Ezra nodded slowly, figuring Missy was as good of a name as any for a magical chicken.**

**"Science," he repeated absentmindedly, wondering what science consisted of. McGonagall had always said that Transfiguration was quite similar to science, but he'd never studied any science with which to compare it. "What's your favorite bit of science?" he prodded, curious.**

**Perhaps, had he been a Muggle (perish the thought! he could feel his parents rolling in their graves), he would have been good at science, too.**

**The younger girl sat up straighter, and he felt himself smile inwardly.**

**"I was in Slytherin, yes," he murmured kindly. "My parents were, too. And Merlin," he added, looking sideways at her. "I expect you've heard of him. Everyone seems to think Merlin was a Gryffindor, but he was a Slytherin."**

**At the mention of Daniella, his chest fluttered for a moment. He looked back at Pearl, who looked positively shameless about the whole thing.**

* * *

"A little over a year," he said cautiously, inspecting his black slippers. "I suppose that doesn't seem like long, does it?" he chuckled dryly. "I expect we've known each other since we were around your age, though. We never really got on back then."

Pearl looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose chemistry. We just started learning it, but my teacher said we can make things explode and change shape and color, and create new things, so it sounded pretty fun! But I like animals a lot too. Dan used to tell me about magical creatures, she even gave me a book once, with pictures!"

She took a moment to breathe, pondering Ezra's words about Dan."A year? So, are you going to have babies now that you're getting married?"

* * *

**Ezra's eyes widened as Pearl explained chemistry. Muggles made things explode too? He hadn't had any idea…**

**He had only just opened his mouth when the girl started again, this time taking a very awkward and forceful path to a place that he wasn't sure he ought to be going so early in the morning with someone half his age.**

**"Do you like books?" he asked hurriedly, trying to go back to their earlier conversation. "That is to say… would you like to see the library? I've got one, you know. Three, actually. And a Quidditch pitch. Have you ever seen a broomstick?" he asked, bending down slightly.**

* * *

Pearl covered her mouth with her small hands, muffling another squeal, every other thought forgotten. She pulled them away slowly, whispering as if she didn't dare believe it, "You play Quidditch too?! You have a broomstick?!"

Her eyes widened, sparkling brightly with poorly contained excitement and hope, her attempt at looking like a grown-up forgotten. "Can you teach me how to fly? Please please please!"

* * *

**Ezra was so relieved that the distraction had worked that it took him a few moments to understand just how involved Pearl was with her obsession with all things magical. He wondered, briefly, if he could handle what he'd just gotten himself into; Ledger was probably a better Quidditch teacher by far.**

**Well, maybe not by far, he thought with a twinge of deeply-buried pride. He was a Greengrass, after all.**

**"Yes," he said confidently, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest. He was still in his pajamas - a black shirt, green plaid pajama pants, a long black bed robe, and black slippers - but as far as he was aware there wasn't any law against playing Quidditch in your pajamas.**

**Or teaching a Muggle to play Quidditch in theirs, for that matter.**

**"Come on, then. We'll take the lift."**

* * *

Pearl jumped out of the couch immediately, worried he might change his mind. She started following him, remembered she was barefoot, fetched her bunny slippers and hurried back to Ezra's side. "You have a lift? Where are we going? I thought people couldn't see magic…"

She looked up at him, grinning. "I know all the positions in Quidditch. After Noah went to our home, I looked up in Jo's books and learned about it, but they didn't say much. Jo said Noah is a really good player! Did you play in school as well?"

* * *

**Ezra looked at her, surprised.**

**"Of course Muggles can see magic," he said. "Didn't your brother ever tell you? A very long time ago, wizards and Muggles used to work together all the time."**

**He took her up the stairs and stopped in front of a small, innocuous looking door with a golden handle. He twisted the handle, and the door opened to reveal a lift.**

**"Do you?" Ezra asked, impressed by her dedication to knowledge. Had she not been a Muggle, he thought, she, too, might have made a fantastic Ravenclaw like her brother. "Yes, Ledger is quite good at Quidditch. He was the Captain of the Gryffindor team, after all."**

**He cleared his throat as the lift slowly churned to a halt. The doors to the garden slid open.**

**"I tried out," he mumbled, hoping she would be too distracted to pay him any mind. "But I didn't make the team, as it were."**

* * *

"They did?" Pearl asked, although she was partially distracted examining the lift. She'd never been on one. There wasn't a building in Stonehaven tall enough to have lifts. "Why is it all a secret now, then? It's very annoying that I can't tell my friends about all of these things, but Jo made me promise…"

She nodded at Ezra's reply absent-mindedly. She stepped out quickly as soon as the doors opened, but stopped suddenly at the sight in front of her. Her mouth fell open again and she squinted at the sunlight.

"You…." She looked at the lift behind them, then back at the garden. "How…? Wow…"

There were walls all around the huge garden, but there was a beautiful clear blue sky above their heads. "Is this all magic?" She murmured, awed.

She rubbed her eyes and looked at Ezra, as if looking for confirmation that she wasn't dreaming. Smiling with delight, she ran across the garden, vaguely noticing the decorations and the long table that had been set there, close to the trees.

She came to a stop near the fountain to look at the fish more closely. "Are they real? They're so cute!" She reached out carefully, trying to touch them.

* * *

**"Well," Ezra murmured, attempting to explain thoroughly. "In the 15th century, there was a law called the International Statute of Secrecy, which was implemented because wizards and Muggles started to fight with each other quite a lot," he said, hoping his language was simple. "Muggles would try to burn us at the stake, and similar - we can't actually burn, of course, unless we want to, but it was rather a hassle to pretend to be burning in public. And after that, we separated our affairs, and they've been that way ever since."**

**He stepped out of the lift, watching her with veiled amusement as she studied the enchanted sky.**

**"It's all magic," he confirmed gently, resting a hand on her shoulder. "This garden has been here for almost a hundred and twenty years. Come on, I'll show you where the broomsticks are."**

**He led her carefully down the cobble path, up the stairs, and onto the pitch; the elves who maintained the garden had clearly already come and gone, judging by the freshly-mown grass on the field.**

**He opened the door to the broom shed and allowed her inside.**

* * *

Pearl looked at Ezra with interest as he talked about wizards pretending to be burning. How did that work exactly, she wondered? She frowned thoughtfully after he finished his explanation. "That's silly. Why would people do that to wizards? Magic is so fun…"

She trailed off when the Quidditch pitch appeared in front of her. It looked just like the pictures she'd seen, except bigger. And better. And so amazing! "Oh my god!" She whispered, looking up at the ring posts. "They're so high…" She breathed, turning her head to look at the pitch over her shoulder as Ezra guided her to a shed.

When she looked at the wall in front of her, she squealed in her highest pitch yet. "So many broomsticks! Are they all yours?" She approached, but stopped before she touched anything. She looked at Ezra expectantly. "Do you think I could fly?" She looked down at her feet. "I know I'm not a witch, I didn't get a letter from Hogwarts, but…"

* * *

**"You'd be surprised," Ezra said reservedly. "Some wizards are prats."**

**Even he was guilty of being a prat, he thought somberly to himself, especially in his younger years. He wouldn't have blamed any Muggles for wanting to burn him.**

**"Technically," he said with a small, warm smile. "Although I only use this one." He pointed to the long-handled, well-polished Cleansweep that he'd used to play with Noah only a while ago. At the inevitable question, he stooped a little again, looking at her with utmost seriousness.**

**"There's no reason you shouldn't be able to," he told her plainly. "Just like there's no reason I can't watch a television. You only have to promise me that you'll be very, very careful," he murmured, turning to the wall of broomsticks and picking up the broom he'd used to fly on before he'd gone to Hogwarts himself. It could only rise to a maximum of six feet off the ground, but even still, six feet off the ground was some distance if you'd never ridden a broomstick.**

**He handed it to her with reverence, then grabbed his Cleansweep off the wall.**

**"And don't tell your brother," he warned over his shoulder. "He'll have my head on a pike."**

* * *

Pearl looked at the tall boy, puzzled, but only for a few moments. She gave him a cautious look, then. "So, what dad told me is true, then? He said there are some bad wizards out there, and that they tried to destroy our village, and that's why I can't walk to school alone with my friends anymore…" she hesitated, unlike herself. "And why Jo couldn't come home as much anymore, because he wanted to protect us. But protect us from what? He's not a bad wizard!"

She didn't want to feel sad on a day like today, though, not when she had the unique chance to actually fly on a broomstick, like she'd seen on the moving pictures in Jo's books.

She listened to Ezra's short explanation and nodded fiercely. "I promise!" She gave him a bright smile when she took the broomstick, shaking with excitement.

"Alright," she agreed. She didn't think Jo would do that, but she would agree to anything Ezra asked, to be able to do this. She held the broomstick very carefully with both hands, looking at it closely from tip to tip. "This is great!"

It was smaller than the one Ezra had picked for himself and lighter than she'd thought. Even though she was buzzing with anticipation, she looked at Ezra, waiting for instructions.

* * *

**Ezra was silent for a moment.**

**"Yes," he said finally. "There are wizards out there who are very bad, and would like to hurt Muggles like you, and wizards who come from Muggle families, like your brother." It was difficult for him to explain the concept to her, especially since he had once been surrounded by those very same wizards; if Daniella hadn't intervened, would he even be one of them? Would he be like Logan, striking terror in the hearts of innocent people for a misguided cause?**

**"But we're going to stop them," he added, after another pause. "So don't worry. Here, let me show you how to hold it. Put your leg over, like this."**

**He put his own leg over the Cleansweep and turned to her, adjusting her hands on the small broom.**

**"Now, listen very carefully. You have to push off with both legs at the same time. Not too hard, but not too gently, either. Watch me."**

**He pushed off, hovering a few inches above the ground.**

**"Now you try," he instructed, watching her closely.**

* * *

Pearl looked very serious for a while, but then she broke into a confident smile. "Dan and Noah and… you too, right? You'll help my brother fight them, won't you?"

She licked her lips, her soft features wrinkled with intense concentration. She watched Ezra, then mimicked his movements. It was more comfortable than she thought it would be. She grabbed the handle tightly, more nervous than she wanted to admit when she saw Ezra's feet get off of the ground.

Her eyes widened even more. "You're really flying," she breathed. She looked down at her hands and bit her lower lip. She glanced at the older boy for encouragement, then pushed off.

She let out a surprised yelp and tightened her hands around the wood handle. "oh my god oh my god oh my god!" Her feet were dangling on the air, and one of her bunny slippers slipped off of her foot onto the ground, a few inches under her foot. "I'm flying," she breathed in a choked voice.

Her small body was tense with a mix of anxiety and excitement. She chanced a cautious look up from her hands, and swayed a little. When that happened, the broomstick immediately lowered until her now bare toes brushed on the grass.

"Am I doing well?" She asked in a small voice, looking up again, more slowly this time. "Can I go a little higher?"

* * *

**Ezra watched with bated breath as Pearl kicked off, hovered, and then lost her balance and fell again. He was reminded of the first time he'd ever ridden a broomstick; it had done exactly the same thing.**

**"You're doing wonderfully," he said, encouraging her. "It doesn't go very high, so you can go a little higher. Don't worry - I'm not going to let you fall."**

**The last sentence caught him slightly by surprise; he wasn't sure he'd ever said that with such confidence to anyone before. Where had that instinct come from?**

**He shook the thought from his mind and pulled his own broom about two feet into the air, just enough to let his feet hang over the field. He never took his eyes from her, watching her intently as she struggled to adjust to the new sensation.**

* * *

Pearl's smile grew more confident with the encouragement. She took a deep breath and tried to rise again. Her fingers were starting to hurt from holding so tightly, but she wasn't about to complain. That feeling was amazing!

It took her a while to learn how to balance, but when she did, she realized it wasn't so different from balancing on rollerblades or on a bike.

Then Ezra taught her how to move around the field and Pearl's giggles filled the space. Her blonde hair waved behind her and she swung her feet lightly when she finished her first full lap around the field.

She looked up at Ezra, happier than ever, when she saw a figure on the ground, arms folded, looking up at them with a mix of concern and resignation on her face.

"DAN!" She screamed, forgetting for a moment that all that was holding her in mid-air was a small broomstick, and starting to raise her hand to wave at Daniella. The broomstick immediately started lowering to the ground when she swayed, and she quickly grabbed the handle again. "HI DAN! Did you see me? I'm flying! Did you see that?!"

* * *

**The scream startled Ezra, but Pearl's sudden dip in altitude startled him more, and he raced over to her, preparing to catch her. He didn't need to, however, as she recovered her balance; at that moment, he locked eyes with Daniella, and managed to look acceptably guilty.**

**He touched down, pulling the broom over his shoulder and ruffling his hair absentmindedly.**

**"Good morning," he called to her, clearing his throat. "You're up early."**

* * *

Pearl stumbled on the landing, in her hurry to get to Daniella. She mumbled something to herself, managed to untangle herself from the broomstick and half-ran, half-hopped towards Daniella.

"Did you see me? Ezra said I did wonderfully!"

Daniella opened her arms and smiled at the excited girl that hugged her. "Oh, I saw. You're a better flier than I am!" She said lightly, looking from Pea to Ezra and narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Good morning," she greeted him back. "You were up earlier," there was a teasing, but also warning tone in her voice. "Who else saw you fly, Pea?" She asked, suspecting no one else knew they were down here.

"No one," Pea said quickly. "And we can't tell Jo," she said quickly. "Ezra is lots of fun, I don't want Jo to be upset with him."

Daniella raised an eyebrow, looking from Pea to Ezra, and a small chuckle escaped her lips. "Oh, is he?" Something flickered in her chest that she couldn't quite identify. "Why don't you go get your slippers and put that broom away, so we can have some breakfast?" She told the young girl, brushing her hair back and giving up when her fingers got tangled.

Pea hurried away to recover her slippers. Daniella looked over at Ezra. "So, you're 'lots of fun'," she teased. "Do you think her parents will think the same when she tells them about this little adventure?" She asked, trying to sound stern, but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

* * *

**"I couldn't sleep," Ezra replied with muted sheepishness. He watched the exchange carefully, hoping that Pearl's glowing review would earn him some slack in the near future. He looked up at Daniella, then, and offered the tiniest hint of a smirk.**

**"Apparently," he said airily as he watched Pearl fetch her slippers from the field and trot out of view. "It was easier than answering questions, in any case."**

**Once Daniella mentioned Fern and Cole, Ezra looked at her with slightly widened eyes, then let out a small, strangled sigh. He hadn't thought of that. But, really, what was the harm? It wasn't truly any more dangerous than a Muggle bicycle, for example… just some light exercise…**

**"I do hope so," he said finally, smirking again. "Now, about that breakfast you mentioned. I am intrigued."**

**He leaned forward to steal a quick, chaste kiss.**

* * *

Daniella eyed him curiously, wondering what kind of questions Pearl had asked that had made Ezra bring her all the way down there. Knowing Pea, though, she decided it was better not to ask.

"Hmm," she said noncommittally, slipping an arm around the small of his back when he kissed her. "Well, from what I've gathered, she'd asked Noah to teach her before, so it won't come as a shock to them, I suppose."

She studied him closely. Was he still upset about the news Alisa had dropped on them before leaving, or was it something about Jo's family? Or something else entirely?

Before she could ask, though, Pea returned and announced she was hungry.

"Alright, let's find ourselves some food. When I passed by the kitchen, the house elves were very busy making pancakes."

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Josiah pulled a long strand of Daniella's hair and wrapped it around his wand like a curling iron; there was a white spark, and the hair fell into a loose, beachy wave. He picked up another strand of hair, humming under his breath.**

**"I'm glad we started early," he said absentmindedly, continuing the pattern with dedicated concentration. "I'd no idea how long it was going to take. Bless me, I reckon they didn't spent that long sewing your dress," he said, chuckling. After he was done curling, he fluffed her hair gently with his fingertips and sighed.**

**"Which side do you want me to start the braid on, love? Right or left?" he bent down and grinned into the mirror at his best friend.**

* * *

Daniella sat on the low back chair, staring at the mirror vaguely as Jo worked on her hair. Her thoughts were all over the place, and she was in such a frenzy she'd barely gotten any sleep last night.

Mrs. Johnston had told her it was normal, and that as soon as the ceremony started, she would feel much better, but that didn't make it any easier for her now. She touched the skin under her eyes, where she thought she could see dark bags indicating lack of sleep.

"Hmm?" She looked at Jo's reflection. It made her feel a little easier that he was here with her. She would've probably panicked by now, if she was doing this alone. She gave a small smile that was more like a lip twitch. "Uh," she looked at her hair, turning her head to one side, then the other. "Left, I think." She turned her head again. "Yes, left."

"Do you think they're ready yet?" She asked for the third time.

* * *

**Satisfied, Jo began to braid from the left.**

**"Probably not, love," he said airily, smiling to himself. "Dressed, maybe, but not ready. For the record, he has much less hair than you do," he told her smirking as he continued to weave her hair over itself intricately. He could use magic, he supposed, but the effect was so much nicer this way, and it was likely the only thing keeping both of them calm for now.**

**"Mum should be in with the flowers soon," he murmured, waving his wand to pin the braid one side of her hair before he began weaving the other way. "I've no idea where Pearl's got to. She said that June met a boy at the Pizza Hut last night. I can't imagine any good will come of that," he said with mock darkness.**

**"Here, turn," he said lowly, gently turning Dan's head to the left so that he could braid more easily.**

* * *

Daniella sighed and looked at Jo sheepishly. "Sorry, I have no idea why I'm such a mess. I just want everything to go well. I still have to put on make up and finish getting dressed and…" she stopped herself and turned her head as Jo requested.

Looking at something other than her anxious reflection helped. "Well, I told June she could bring someone if she wanted, she just had to let me or Ezra know, so we could provide one extra seat. It wouldn't be any good to be carrying chairs around in the middle of the ceremony."

She took the small hand mirror to check out her hair. "You're doing an amazing job, Jo!" She studied her reflection critically. "Let's just hope I can get the make up to fix the rest of my face…"

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Ezra sat in a large, cushioned armchair, staring into space. His leg was shaking rhythmically, so much so that his entire body was gently churning. He had the corner of his thumb in his mouth. He was biting it.**

**"Would Master care for a glass of water while he waits?" Binky croaked from the side. Ezra blinked, stopped rocking for a brief moment, then shook his head vigorously and resumed the motion.**

**"No, thank you, Binky," he murmured, rubbing at his eye and then curling his hand under his chin. "There are much classier ways to have a bath, as I recall."**

**He looked up at Noah.**

**"Do you think they're ready?" he asked, anxiously.**

* * *

Noah pulled his collar again uncomfortably, but when he looked over at Ezra, he decided the other boy was far more uncomfortable than he was right now.

"I seriously doubt it," he said patiently. Jo had told him what he was supposed to do as a best man, but he hadn't expected Ezra to be in such a state. "She has a lot more to do than you, after all. Can't be easy getting into a fancy wedding dress," he said teasingly, trying to lighten up his friend's mood.

He slipped his hands into the pockets of his perfectly tailored suit and felt the small case with the wedding rings that were his responsibility until it was time for Daniella and Ezra to exchange them.

A small smile blossomed and he bit his lip to hide it. It might be a terrible idea, but he was supposed to keep the groom distracted, after all. He adjusted the small case so it wouldn't be noticeable. "Oh my god!" He shouted suddenly, looking up at Ezra with wide eyes. "Where are the rings?" He felt his pockets frantically.

* * *

**Ezra sighed; he should have expected that answer. Really, he supposed he had only asked so that Ledger would offer his clumsy comfort. His tension eased a bit.**

**Not for long.**

**"What?" he asked sharply, standing. "What on earth do you mean, 'where are the rings?'" Ezra started scanning the floor like a madman, spinning around twice and swaying a bit on his feet. He grit his teeth, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. They were wizards, he remembered. They could use the Summoning Charm.**

**"_Accio_ Rings," he said. The rings zoomed from - naturally - Noah's pocket, and into Ezra's hand. He stared at them with a firm jaw, then looked back up at Noah with dark, sarcastic eyes.**

**"I should hex you for that," he murmured, tossing the small box back to his friend. "But I won't, because my hands are shaking and I'd miss, you great bloody buffoon."**

* * *

Noah tried to grab his pocket, but Ezra was quicker. He started laughing and almost dropped the box when Ezra tossed it back at him.

He slipped it back into his pocket carefully and tried to swallow the laughter at Ezra's threat. "Sorry, mate, I was just trying to help you relax a little." He rested a large hand on Ezra's shoulder. "It's going to be fine, everything is prepared and almost everyone else is ready by now. Are you ready?"

* * *

**Ezra watched Noah fumble with the box. He couldn't help it; he chuckled, too.**

**"Merlin's beard," he murmured under his breath, rubbing at his eye again, more vigorously this time. His heart had only just slowed to a nice, healthy trot. He sighed as Noah's hand came to rest on his shoulder. Even more valuable, however, was the genuine encouragement.**

**He nodded reservedly, sobering up quickly.**

**"Yes," he said through a half-sigh. "Ready and absolutely, positively terrified."**

**A beat of silence passed before he broke into nervous, but warm, laughter.**

* * *

Noah could only watch, surprised. Where was the confident, slightly arrogant Greengrass? It wasn't like he and Daniella hadn't been together for quite some time now. So, getting married should be just a formality, for the most part.

But he knew, obviously, it was much more than that. He smiled at the other boy as comfortingly as he could manage, realizing he'd probably be just as nervous if he was in his place.

"Good, that's the right state of mind to be in," he said lightly. "We should head downstairs. You don't want the bride to be waiting for you, do you?" He patted Ezra's shoulder and removed his hand, reaching for his collar again as he tried to remember what Jo had told him. "Alright, checklist: rings are ready. You," he looked over Ezra's figure, "didn't forget your pants… your vows, do you know them?"

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Josiah, who had finally finished up Daniella's hair and makeup and was now fiddling with his own tie, looked up as the door clicked open and shut.**

**"Hi, Mum," he said with a smile. "How are things downstairs?"**

**"Lively," Fern said with a grin. "All those little elves do look dashing, don't they? Bless them... Daniella, sweetheart, I've brought your bouquet," she said, handing Dan a large bundle of flowers. She bent down so that she could see her face in the mirror beside Daniella's. She had curled her hair herself; it was light brown flecked with grey. She was wearing a mint green skirt-suit and bright red lipstick. She smiled.**

**"How are we feeling?" she asked cheerfully.**

* * *

Daniella's stomach gave a small jump when the door opened and closed. She blew out a relieved breath when she saw Mrs. Johnston and looked back at the mirror.

It was odd, she barely recognized herself at first glance. She rarely dressed up or put much makeup on, but Jo had done an amazing job; there was a mix of anxiety and excitement on her face; her hands were shaking slightly, but she held the bouquet more tightly to keep them steady. She bit her lip, then quickly stopped, before she ruined the makeup. She tried to smile at Mrs. Johnston and took the bouquet with sweaty palms.

"I'm…" she exhaled loudly again. "Why am I so nervous?" She murmured to herself. She took another paper tissue from the box close by and cleaned her hands again. "I think I'm ready. Is everyone else ready? And the garden and all that?" She asked again. She looked at the mirror, turning her head to check her hair for the tenth time. "I'm ready… Right?" She looked at Jo, looking for assurance.

* * *

**"I was a wreck on my wedding day," Fern said kindly, patting Dan gingerly on the shoulder. "You wouldn't tell it from the photos, though. If only I could fit into that dress again! Pish."**

**She gave Dan's thin shoulders a gentle, comforting massage.**

**"You're ready, love," Jo said over his shoulder, apparently finally satisfied with his tie placement. He grinned at her. "If you two were any readier I don't think I could take it, to be frank. Now, up you get."**

* * *

Daniella chuckled at that. "So, feeling sick to my stomach is normal? Good, I thought there was something wrong with me!" Giving Mrs. Johnston a grateful look, she cleared her throat, grabbed the side of her dress and stood up, nodding. "Ok, let's go."

Is Ezra downstairs yet? She wanted to ask, but she bit the inside of her lip and nodded again. It was time. "Ok." She said once more.

She straightened her dress, took another deep breath and walked out of the room, amazed her legs could still support her, considering they felt like jelly. Mr. Johnston was outside, further down the hallway, waiting. She smiled at him. "Thank you for doing this," she murmured when she got to his side.

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Ezra stood to one side of the lectern where Noah had placed him; the old, feeble-looking priest was wearing the most nicely-brushed black robes Ezra had ever seen. The elderly wizard smiled at him kindly. Ezra managed to look half-happy and a little constipated.**

**"Isn't there supposed to be music?" he hissed back at Noah through the corner of his mouth. No sooner had the words left him than magically-amplified music filled the space, so loudly and with such a lovely timbre that Ezra jumped back into place and crossed his hands meekly in front of him.**

**Heat filled his cheeks.**

**He didn't dare look, not yet.**

* * *

Noah made a huge effort to swallow the laughter when the music started. He was supposed to look serious, after all, wasn't he? He resisted the urge to touch his collar – he was slowly getting used to it – and gave Ezra a discreet pat on the shoulder instead.

"It'll be over before you know it, mate. It won't even hurt, just like a vaccine," he remembered Ezra probably didn't know what that was, but before he could add anything else, there was a collective gasp from the crowd.

A door had opened somewhere. It closed a few moments later and Jo's mom showed up and took her seat. He looked at the end of the cobble path, looking for Jo, who should be coming to take his place as well.

A few more moments passed, then the music grew a little louder, silencing the crowd. He smiled and leaned over to Ezra. "Here she comes," he murmured, straightening up to wait for the bride.

* * *

**Ezra didn't have time to work out what a vaccine was before there were a few sharp inhales from those seated (mostly elves); his eyes scanned the garden, taking in all the sights which he hadn't been able to totally comprehend when he'd entered. The place was so familiar to him, and yet it was easy to forget that he was in his own house.**

**He caught sight of the train first, because it was quite long, and his eyes followed it naturally up from the bottom of her beautifully-cut dress and up to her face, which was covered by a veil but the look on it still made his heart hammer against his ribs incredibly. He took a deep breath and found himself a little choked with emotion.**

**He smiled.**

**Josiah's father led her to the end of the aisle, and he took over from there, standing on the opposite side from Noah and giving his boyfriend a small, excited smile. He tucked his hands behind his jacket to keep from fidgeting.**

**"You two look great," he whispered to Ezra and Noah, winking. Ezra blinked at the other boy several times before taking a deep, shaky breath and offering a small half-smile. He quickly turned his attention back to Daniella.**

**"Hi," he breathed. "Wow."**

**The music stopped.**

* * *

For about a minute, the only thought on Daniella's mind was: please, don't trip, please, don't trip.

When all eyes turned to her – most of them big and sparkly with tears, since most of the elves seemed about to start crying – she was incredibly thankful for having someone at her side, guiding her, or she might've just stood there, frozen.

But then she looked at the end of the path, barely noticing Noah and the priest before her eyes lay on Ezra. The smile was on her face before she realized it. Her heart was racing more quickly than before, if that was possible, and she had butterflies in her stomach, but the anxiety faded as she walked towards her soon-to-be-husband.

"Hi," she murmured back, blushing, but she didn't look away from those fiery dark eyes; she couldn't if she wanted. He was everything she wanted. She took his hand. "Wow to you too."

It was difficult, but she looked away from Ezra to look at the priest.


	32. Undercover

**_Chapter 32 - Undercover_**

_A few months later_

Logan made his way down the street lazily, his hands tucked into the folds of his robes. It was ten minutes past midnight, but he wasn't in any rush. If Avery couldn't even bother to confirm Logan was available attend his… summons, without ruining his own plans, he could very well wait.

He turned to the Knockturn Alley, that was mostly deserted at that time, his long black cloak lightly brushing the floor as he climbed down the few steps into the narrow street.

He found the carved wooden sign with the letters "_The Spiny Serpent_" and a long black snake on the bottom. It was a warm night, so he was glad to find the person he was meeting sitting outside.

He wasn't so glad when he realized who was waiting for him. His expression hardened and he curled his fingers around his wand immediately. The face that had been haunting him since his failure at the Ministry, and especially since he'd seen the news on the Daily Prophet's gossip section months ago was now, finally, in front of him. There was only one thought in his mind as he approached the table, glancing around to check his surroundings.

* * *

**Ezra didn't bother to check his ornate silver pocket watch for the time; he knew, simply by the hollow chime of the clock tower in the distance, that Logan was late. It didn't bother him, not really. He had time. He'd made certain he would.**

**He, too, was wearing long black robes. They were open at the front, revealing a crisp black summer suit underneath. He was clean-shaven, and his pale skin glowed in the dim light of the streetlamp nearby. He was elegantly reclined in a molded metal chair by a matching table which had aged silver serpents for legs. On the table was a mug of black coffee. Between his thin, well-manicured fingers, a cigarette.**

**He heard footsteps approaching, and, without so much as tilting his head, heard them stop abruptly. He heard the shuffling of robes, and he could feel the thickness in the air that only came with tension unabated.**

**His dark eyes, black in the midnight, shifted to the side, and he caught Logan Hawke in his peripheral vision. He held up his empty hands slowly, to show that he was unarmed. Smoke wafted from his cigarette and curled into the thick air.**

**"I wouldn't make a spectacle, if I were you," he purred, lowering the cigarette to his lips again and taking a slow, luxurious inhale. "I think you'll find what I have to say worthwhile."**

* * *

Logan inhaled sharply as his eyes followed Ezra's empty hands, focusing on the gleam of a wedding band, but he gave no sign of the cold iron hand that closed around his gut.

He forced himself to relax enough to take a seat in front of Greengrass, leaning back and resting his elbows on the arms of his chair. There was only one piece of information he wanted from Greengrass before he killed him.

"Unless you're here to tell me where my sister is, I truly doubt that. But, since we're now _family_," he said the word with a heavy note of disdain, his eyes flicking back to that bloody ring before focusing on Greengrass's face again. "I will listen."

* * *

**Ezra took another drag of his cigarette and offered a small, wry smile as Logan lowered into the chair across from him. The street was dark and empty now; an owl hooted in the distance.**

**"Daniella is at home," he said, blowing out a cloud of white smoke. "Resting. Her feet swell if she's on them too long – you know how pregnancy can affect a woman."**

**He let that tidbit of information sink in for a moment. After he was sure that Logan had been given plenty of time to process, he extinguished his cigarette on the edge of the table and laced his hands in front of him.**

**"I never got the chance to thank you properly for murdering my parents," he murmured. A small, easy smile crept onto his lips. "It was perfect timing. They'd been letting the money run dry, and had so outlived their usefulness. You have my gratitude. Which is why…" he trailed off for a moment, taking a sip of warm, bitter coffee. The sentence died in a soft chuckle.**

**"You see, I don't like to lose," he said, flatly. "I want my children to grow up in a world that idolizes them, as well it should. I want them to know the value of the blood running through their veins, Hawke, as I'm sure you understand. And for that to happen, I have to place my bets soon – and on the right horse."**

**His smile faded, and his dark eyes locked onto Logan's.**

**"So, for now, let's make this about you and I, hmm? How much were they paying you? I'll double it – and I'll lend you my wand. In exchange for minor services, of course," he finished, calmly.**

* * *

Logan, who had raised a couple of fingers to call the barman, quickly dropped them at Ezra's words, his eyes widening with the shock. He studied the boy for a long time, trying to see the truth in his eyes. Dany, _pregnant_?

The iron hand in his gut tightened its grip and he saw everything red for a moment. That son of a… Before he could find his voice again, Ezra continued with his proposition.

Logan let out a humorless, low chuckle. "Do you really think I'm that stupid, Greengrass? You, of all people, changing sides yet again?" He shook his head, making a _'tsc, tsc'_ sound.

He turned his head slightly to the bartender when he approached the table. "Firewhiskey," he said harshly.

He met Ezra's dark eyes. That speech didn't match the boy's attitudes for the last couple of years. And it definitely didn't match a man Dany would ever want to marry, despite her family's attempts. Unless…

"Does Dany know you're here with me? And how you… feel?" He asked curiously, his hatred now burning slowly and steadily through him, giving him some clarity.

* * *

**Ezra bit back a smile at Logan's reaction, which was every bit as satisfactory as he'd predicted it would be.**

**"She knows that I'm out, but not with whom," Ezra said silkily. "As for how I feel… let's just say she's not keen on the idea, as yet. But you know as well as I how delightfully stubborn she can be."**

**He smiled, cat-like.**

**"I have a choice to make – I can stand idly by while our way of life collapses into nothing, or I can take action now… and be appreciated for it later, when it becomes obvious that my decision was the right one. Regardless, the estate is mine. Now, what say you?" He took another sip of coffee, and his gaze bored relentlessly into the other man. "I line your pockets, Hawke, and you guarantee me that my family and my investments will be secure in the future. My father might have been afraid to get his hands dirty, but I am not."**

* * *

Logan's mind was working at full-speed. He wanted more than anything to take care of Greengrass himself. But they were at a critical stage in that war, and he knew the value of bringing his Master a valuable asset. And, despite his personal opinions, the Greengrass family was considered very valuable.

He didn't believe Ezra's commitment would ever be enough to survive if he really did join; he'd probably just gotten scared when he realized how alone he was right now, and was clinging to every illusion of safety he could find.

Logan bit back an amused laugh. Ezra would be anything but safe, but that was just fine by Logan. When the Dark Lord realized the boy wasn't that useful, after all, and was done with him, Logan would be there to console his sister.

He took a sip of his firewhiskey. "You line my pockets, and I guarantee you a chance of proving yourself, Greengrass. I guarantee you safety until that point. And then," he opened his hands in a vague gesture. "It'll be out of my hands." His eyes held a dangerous gleam when he added, "The Dark Lord likes his men to be loyal and devoted, no matter what part they take in his plans; he won't be satisfied with anything less. Are you willing to do that?"

* * *

**Ezra's eyes narrowed slightly when Logan mentioned proving himself.**

**"Fair enough," he said, smirking. Yes, the conversation had followed the path that Ezra had envisioned almost exactly. He had no doubt that Logan still viewed him as that frail, powerless figure he'd seen at the Ministry all those months ago.**

**And that was just as well.**

**"My devotion to the cause is immeasurable," he murmured. "As for loyalty, I daresay your Master shall be the judge of that. And when can I expect to hear from you?" he asked lowly, sloshing the remnants of his lukewarm coffee around in his mug.**

* * *

Ezra's claim of devotion made a distrusting smile blossom on Logan's lips. Poor idiot…

He emptied his glass to gain a few moments. He was risking his own neck bringing Greengrass in, if his intentions were more obscure than he let know, but if he brought the subject up in the right way… "Yes, he definitely will," he said slowly.

He stood up, looking down at the younger boy. "Very well, Greengrass. It's your funeral. I'll need to take care of a few details first. We can meet here in two days, at midnight. Don't forget the money." He started to walk away, then stopped and turned. "Oh, and congratulations. Tell Dany her mother will be very… happy with the news," he added in a low voice.

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

**Ezra slid in through the front door of Greengrass Manor and shut it behind him with a click. Once on the other side, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to steady the beating of his heart.**

**It wasn't that Logan frightened him. Indeed, of all the possible outcomes, facing Logan was at the bottom of a long list of worries. He Who Must Not Be Named, however…**

**He released the captive breath in a long, slow exhale. Then, he locked the door, made every effort to have faith in Johnston's protective enchantments, and made his way into the entry hall. He'd instructed the elves not to stay up all night, and it appeared that his orders had been heeded; the grand house seemed eerily silent at such a late hour.**

**He sighed before making his way into the kitchen with the intent of making a strong cup of tea. The coffee had left a bad taste in his mouth, and the lingering odor of cigarettes hadn't done anything to help the matter.**

**He arrived in the kitchen to find it already occupied, and he hesitated before speaking.**

**"I thought you'd gone to bed," he murmured quietly to Daniella, draping his cloak over one of the straight-backed wooden chairs. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I thought I'd make some tea. Would you care for some?"**

* * *

Daniella had stayed behind after everyone else had gone to sleep. She couldn't say why she'd decided to wait in the kitchen instead of in one of the many living rooms in the manor; maybe because the kitchen had always been one of the few places she felt comfortable enough in when she was troubled. She wouldn't have been able to stay in the bedroom without him, that was for sure.

She raised her eyes, then ran them over his body twice, head to toe, as if to make sure he was unscathed. Only then did she manage to breathe more easily again. "Like I could've gotten any sleep…" she muttered darkly, but managed a small smile when he kissed her.

"Yes, please." She could smell the smoke on his clothes and his breath and narrowed her eyes slightly, biting back a comment. "How did it go?"

* * *

**Ezra, ever the perceptive one, caught the look she gave him which said _I-know-you've-been-smoking-and-I've-told-you-a-million-times_ almost as clearly as though she'd said it out loud. He offered her a brittle, guilty half-smile. He couldn't help but think that she was most beautiful there, in those moments, even when she was disapproving of him quietly. Her hair had grown, and so had her middle, only a little, and Ezra found her more and more captivating as the days rolled by.**

**He, on the other hand, had only a streak of grey in his otherwise raven-black hair and bags under his eyes to show for his months of trouble.**

**With effort, he detached himself from her and busied himself with the teapot.**

**"It went," he said quietly, his voice a bit hoarse. He cleared his throat. "I expect I'll know more in two days' time. That's when I'm to meet with him again."**

**He filled the teapot with water and pointed his wand at it distractedly. It whistled after only a few moments; he carried it carefully over to the table and summoned two tea cups.**

**"He also said it was my funeral, but perhaps he was just wishing aloud," he added dryly, rummaging around in the cupboard for the tea bags. With his mind drifting off, he gave up trying to fish them out and instead brought the whole box.**

**He sat. After a moment, he poured some hot water into her cup.**

* * *

Daniella watched him closely as he fiddled around in the kitchen. She was trying very hard to be supportive of his decision; it wouldn't help him at all, if she raised even more obstacles than he already had to overcome.

But she saw, probably better than anyone else, what the efforts of the last few months were doing to him; and it had just barely started. She pushed that thought aside; she'd had enough dark thoughts about what could happen already.

"Two days? So quickly?!" She asked, her voice a little higher pitched than normal. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Are you sure…?" she trailed off. _Don't doubt him_, she told herself. There was no room for doubt in that crazy plan of his.

She raised her eyes to Ezra when he mentioned Logan's words, an odd light in her eyes. "Maybe it'll be his funeral instead," she murmured viciously. She had grown more and more protective of her family lately.

She studied her husband as he poured her tea. "Do you have any idea of what they'll ask of you?"

* * *

**"Two days, same time, same place," Ezra confirmed, grabbing the sugar cubes as an afterthought. He didn't take sugar with his tea, but Daniella did…**

**Her voice reached a peak and then faded away, and he studied her carefully. They'd had a lot of conversations about this night; there had been fights, mends, worries, fears about this night. At the end of the day, though, it was Ezra's decision – he was the one who had been training for months – and he had done his best to convince her that it was the right thing to do.**

**He'd promised that he would fight. The pregnancy had changed things, but the war didn't stop just because his life had started.**

**"I hope it won't be anyone's funeral," he murmured, placing his hand gently over hers and leaving it there. Then, he plopped a tea bag into both cups of hot water and waited for the brew to steep. "I have my suspicions, but nobody can say for sure. It will definitely be a crime of some sort, and they'll use any information Logan can give them about me to make that decision. Whatever it is, I'm sure that it will be…"**

**He exhaled; his heart rate had picked up again.**

**"…intentionally difficult," he finished, lamely. "That's all I can say. But nevermind; we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Tell me how you are," he murmured, tracing his thumb over the ridge of her knuckles. At this point, he was vaguely certain that she was the only thing keeping him sane.**

* * *

Daniella curled her fingers around his. Logan knew too much about them to be comfortable, and he'd certainly have a saying on the task they'd give Ezra. They were fairly certain it wouldn't involve her – and that knowledge had been a big part of his decision –, because Logan would make sure of that, but other than that…

She'd be there for him, after. Whatever he had to do, she'd help him get through it. "Yes," she agreed. "Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. We'll do it." Anything to get you out of there alive, she thought to herself.

She huffed out a half sigh, half snort and took a small, tentative sip of her tea. "I'm feeling better. I haven't thrown up tonight's dinner yet, which is a great improvement! And also why Jo isn't dancing around me right now…" She added, smiling at last. "Do you want to eat? There are leftovers. I can warm something for you before we go upstairs…"

* * *

**Ezra was grateful for her acceptance, so much so that he couldn't find the words to properly express himself. He settled for gently squeezing her hand, which now warmed his.**

**Her candid tone helped him relax, and a mountain of tension seemed to unwind itself from him. He smiled a small, tentative smile.**

**"That's good," he purred. "Merlin knows that you could both use the sleep. Hell, I could use the sleep," he mumbled offhandedly, rubbing at his eye blearily with his free hand. Afterward, he lifted the teacup to his lips and sipped. "Ledger seems to be the only one getting any sleep in this house."**

**He sighed, but chuckled under his breath in spite of himself.**

**"No, thank you," he said, softly. "I've been put off my appetite, I'm afraid. But nevermind."**

**He found himself saying those words a lot lately; his eyes focused on the kitchen cupboard behind his wife, although he wasn't looking at it. After a moment or two, he snapped back to reality and took another long sip of tea.**

**"I'll go to visit Dumbledore in the morning, and then I'll be home for the day. No more of this running back and forth nonsense."**

**He kissed her forehead again, and this time his lips lingered there.**

**"Imagine! An entire day of not being bombarded. I do hope to share it with you, if you're keen." He smiled at her then, and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that lasted for only a moment before fading again. He drained the rest of his tea.**

* * *

Daniella snorted, putting down her cup before it spilled. "Well, Noah could sleep through an earthquake, so that isn't saying much…"

She pressed her lips together, biting back a reply. He had lost too much weight already because he wasn't eating well. She'd have to find a way to feed him properly the next day.

She smiled more widely and grabbed at his shirt pulling him down for a proper kiss. "I'd like that very much," she said in a low voice, resting her forehead against his.

"Oh…" Came a raspy voice from behind them. "Er, sorry, I didn't know you were here," Noah said apologetically, standing on the doorway wearing only shorts and rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, look, he woke up," Daniella murmured to Ezra teasingly, before turning her head to look at the Gryffindor.

"I just came to grab a snack," Noah continued, his eyes coming to rest on Ezra. "So… did you do it?" He asked.

* * *

**Ezra leaned into the kiss, relishing it completely until Ledger's sleep-riddled voice distracted him. He huffed out an amused but impatient sigh, resting his forehead against hers for only a moment before looking at the other boy.**

**"I do live here," he replied dryly, although his tone had no venom in it. He pulled away from Daniella slowly, folding his hand under his chin. At the mention of 'it', his expression became solemn again; the fleeting moment of happiness had slipped away.**

**"I did," he murmured. "I'm to meet with Dumbledore in the morning, and with Logan in two days' time to find out what they want of me."**

**He nibbled at his pinky fingernail absentmindedly before brushing his barely silver-streaked bangs from his forehead.**

**"In any case, I'm exhausted," he murmured hollowly, after a while. He allowed his eyes to drift shut under dark, furrowed eyebrows. A few moments passed in silence before he opened them again.**

* * *

Daniella looked back at Ezra's face as he spoke. She had a few things she'd like to tell Dumbledore about making Ezra work too much on his own, next time she saw him.

Noah walked into the kitchen nonchalantly, picked up an apple and took a large bite as he leaned back against the counter. "That's good news. Do let me know if you need any help with…" he frowned momentarily, seemingly lost in thought; he shrugged. "Well, anything. I don't think I'll get another mission for a while, at least until Dearborn is on his feet again. That was a nasty curse…"

Daniella looked at the other boy, with a mix of amusement and annoyance. He didn't even realize he might be interrupting something. It was both infuriating and endearing.

She cupped Ezra's cheek with one hand, studying the small wrinkle of concern between his eyebrows. "Let's go to bed, so we can both get some rest," she said softly when he opened his eyes again. "We'll need our energy if want to make the most of tomorrow."

* * *

**"Thank you," Ezra said quietly. Now that he and Daniella had been interrupted, there was nothing to stop him from thinking about how incredibly, doggedly tired he was. He watched Ledger crunch away at his apple, well-rested and oblivious. It wasn't as though he knew there wasn't anything he could really do to help, Ezra reminded himself. If he started to think of his closest friends that way, he really would go mad. He was in too deep to start pushing people away now.**

**He sighed again, and closed his eyes as Daniella caressed his cheek. Her hand was cool against his face. He nuzzled into it.**

**"Yes," he agreed in a whisper. "Let's."**

**He hauled himself to his feet with monumental effort and offered his hands to Daniella, so that she might pull herself up.**

**"Goodnight, Ledger," he said wryly. With those final words, he led Daniella loosely by the hand around the bend and up the stairs.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_Two days later_

Logan walked down the street to his second meeting with Ezra with a confident and amused smile on his face. This was turning out to be the best day in quite some time, for him. And it was about to get better.

He arrived at the pub and, as he'd expected, found Greengrass sitting on the same table. "Well, well, good to see you haven't given up yet," he mocked, taking his seat and crossing his legs at the knee.

* * *

**Ezra looked pale, but then again, the boy had never had much color. Logan gave a short nod at the bartender before he even approached and the man walked away again. "I've talked to some friends about your inspiring speech the other night; I told them how 'devoted' you are to the cause," he couldn't suppress a small smirk at that. "They're curious. Have you brought the money?"**

**Ezra's dark eyes flicked up to survey Logan, and something dangerous flashed in them for a brief moment before he quelled it. This was not about his pride, he tried to remind himself; this was for Daniella, for their unborn child, for his friends, for the whole of the wizarding world.**

**His lips parted in a feral smirk.**

**"Do you think me so fickle?" he said silkily, flexing his ringed fingers. "Yes, I have the money." He procured a small, green velvet pouch from the inner pocket of his robes and turned it over in his hand idly, surveying it as though it was only mildly interesting.**

**He lifted his eyes to the other man again, and the mirth had vanished from them.**

**"So?" he said, expectantly.**

* * *

Logan raised one eyebrow. "Well, it's not like you've honored all of our previous deals, is it?"

He looked at the pouch intently, even though the money was the least of his concerns. He didn't buy Ezra's newly found devotion for one second, but he was glad for the opportunity to keep an enemy closer. Especially because he'd been given the permission by Malfoy himself to test the boy as he very well pleased, as long as he made sure of the boy's real intentions and abilities.

He'd spent a long time planning his next move. He wasn't completely oblivious to Ezra's skills. He'd been close enough to the Greengrass family for long enough to realize what kind of training their heir had been given.

No, what he needed to test was Ezra's heart. He'd spent far too long with Dany and her Mudblood friends for Logan to believe he hated them.

Logan's smile grew wider and more vicious and he focused his attention on Ezra again. "Very well. I'll go straight to the point. In order to prove your willingness to obey the Dark Lord's orders and to help him reach his objectives, you'll have to… kill someone." He paused, relishing that moment and the boy's reaction. "A Mudblood," he added slowly.

* * *

**The air practically sizzled between the two of them, and Ezra's heart threatened to migrate to his throat in a brief moment of vulnerability. He knew well the look that was in Logan's eyes; it was the same look he'd been wearing that night he'd chased him down in Diagon Alley, and the same look he'd had as he'd subjected Ezra to the Cruciatus Curse, over and over again…**

**Logan wasn't merely evil, of that he was certain. There was a wild-eyed fervor about him now that hadn't been there before… it stunk of insanity.**

**"Naturally," Ezra said sarcastically, accepting the order with placid calm. "Do you have a specific one in mind, or shall I pick one off of the street? They do multiply," he drawled.**

* * *

For a moment, Logan thought he saw the shadow of doubt in Ezra's dark eyes, but then that moment was gone. He was good, he had to admit.

"No, it's not just anyone…" Logan rolled his eyes up for a moment, as if considering something. "I suspect Dany will be quite upset…" he lowered his eyes again. "But I'm sure you'll find a way to comfort her, after you kill Johnston."

* * *

**A beat of silence passed between them after Logan finished speaking, then two; Ezra's face remained ever-passive, but his heart had skipped a beat against his will. He had been prepared to do anything – to kill, even, if it meant the safety of his family. But this…**

**Of course, it was exactly what Logan had intended.**

**"And the catch is?" he murmured, after a long moment. "Surely you aren't going to take my word for it."**

* * *

Logan inhaled deeply, taking the most of that moment. He wanted to see Greengrass squirm, he wanted to see him suffer. He leaned back easily, ordering a glass of firewhiskey before he answered.

"As much as I'd like to, no, I'm not going to. Your word isn't worth much as of now, you see?" He said lightly. "But don't worry, you won't have to wait very long."

His drink arrived and he took a long sip before putting the glass down noisily. "Due to certain recent events, the Muggles government is under a lot of pressure," he explained with a chuckle. "Those idiots want to take down their government, as if anyone else they get in there will be able to keep them safe. There's a Muggle protest scheduled, in front of 10 Downing Street, where their Minister works."

Logan licked his lips, taking his time. He'd tried to make this mission as difficult as he possibly could, which was why he wanted it to happen in a crowded place, filled with Muggles. He kept weaving his web as neatly as he could.

"Your mission is to lure Johnston to that protest… and then kill him. A few of our own, including me, will be there, observing your performance in secret. If you succeed, I'll take you to them and you'll be on your way to get the protection you seek for yourself and your… new family."

He fell silent, giving Greengrass time to process all that information; studying him closely. Seeing how far he was willing to take this charade.

* * *

**Ezra bit back a snort, raising his own glass to his lips and taking a long draw from it. He rested it on the table, then, and paused; almost automatically, he pulled a cigarette from his cloak pocket and lit it with a hidden flick of his wand.**

**He inhaled deeply, relishing the first bite of the smoke in his chest.**

**"Alright," Ezra said, releasing a torrent of smoke with his words. He slid the money across the table with two thin fingers. "You can take this to your 'friends.' Tell them to keep a healthy distance in the meantime. I'm liable to make a mess of those Muggles."**

**He dropped one galleon onto the table by way of a tip before pulling himself to his feet, still nursing his cigarette desperately.**

* * *

Logan's low, vicious chuckle grew louder as Greengrass got to his feet. He shook his head, as if the boy had just told him some hilarious joke.

"Of course," he said finally, giving a short nod as he took the pouch, inspecting its contents. "We'll be looking forward to it. The bigger the mess, the better!" He raised his glass in a mocking cheer. "I will see you soon, Greengrass."

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella had spent the last couple of hours either sitting on one of the stuffed chairs or pacing the living room. This time around, no one had retired yet. Both Jo and Noah were still in the living room with her, but she couldn't make eye contact with any of them. She could barely keep her own anxiety in check, much less deal with theirs.

She was sick to her stomach, although she couldn't tell if it was because of the wait or the pregnancy anymore. With a heavy sigh, she took her seat on the chair again, with a clear sight to the door, the large clock on the wall and a portion of the hallway outside.

* * *

**Ezra had started smoking after seeing it on Muggle television. It was, according to the public at large, a very nasty habit, and he quite agreed. He did, however, see the appeal.**

**Indeed, he was beginning to contemplate buying a large stock of the blasted things, just so that he could light the beginning of one with the end of another without worrying about running out.**

**He Apparated onto the front stoop with a crack and let himself into his house.**

**"Thank God," Jo sighed, leaning back against his cushioned armchair. Ezra looked at him, then at Ledger, then at Daniella.**

**"A bit hasty, perhaps," he grumbled, pulling off his long cloak and hanging it in the front hall. He lingered in the doorway of the large living room, hollow-eyed and scant. As he leaned against the wall, he raised one hand to the bridge of his nose and clamped his pale fingers between his closed eyes.**

**He was silent for several moments. When he did finally look up, it was at Josiah.**

**"Do you trust me?" he asked, fixing the other boy with his tired, but somehow still incredibly unnerving, stare.**

**"What?" Jo murmured, slightly caught off-guard. "Yes?" he replied, carefully.**

**"Do – you – trust – me?" Ezra repeated, with emphasis. He took a couple of steps forward before sinking stiffly into one of the armchairs. Josiah looked at him uncomfortably. They stared at each other for a moment.**

**"Yes," he said again, with more conviction.**

**"With your life?" Ezra murmured, folding his hand under his chin in characteristic posture. His eyebrows were furrowed. The intensity made Josiah's heart skip.**

**"Well, yes, but…" he said in a small voice. "What is it? What's happened? You smell like an ashtray," he added candidly, looking petulant.**

**Ezra sagged against the back of the chair, sliding so far that his back was cradled in the seat somewhat pathetically.**

**"I'm to kill you," he said finally, in a whisper. "That's what he wants. He wants me to kill you – in public, while he watches."**

* * *

Daniella had gotten up when Ezra walked into the room, but his immediate focus on Jo left her with a terrible sinking feeling. She stood there, watching the exchange, unsure what to do, just looking from one to the other.

Until he said those last words. There was a moment of eerie silence as the words sunk in, a moment when no one moved, no one even breathed.

And then the meaning of those words hit her like a brick wall. "That bloody bastard!" She spat at the same time Noah got to his feet and took a step towards the other two boys, fists clenched and growled, "The hell you will! I'll kill that asshole with my own hands, if he's that desperate to see someone die!"

Daniella looked at Noah, then at Jo. That was it. Ezra would just have to tell Dumbledore to find someone else to risk their neck. Right?

She looked at Ezra, and the terrible feeling grew stronger. She blindly reached for the chair with one hand, needing to sit down until the room stopped its slow spin. "Ezra?" She called, her voice barely a murmur, knowing what she'd see in his eyes, but not sure she was ready to deal with his decision.

* * *

**There was a moment wherein Ezra felt that familiar sinking feeling that he'd only felt once before; it was the same feeling he'd gotten when they'd been living in Liverpool, and everyone had been convinced he was a secret Death Eater. The correlation made him irritable, and he grit his teeth.**

**"Don't be daft," he snapped, wounded. "Obviously I'm not going to kill anyone."**

**Josiah, who hadn't moved from his position in the armchair, had involuntarily clenched his hands into his pajama bottoms. He slowly relaxed them, but he couldn't suppress the shiver that ran down his spine.**

**"Of course you aren't," Jo said breathily, as though he'd just done a lot of running. "You have a plan."**

**Ezra looked up at Daniella, then back to Jo.**

**"Yes," he murmured, although he looked troubled at the admission. "Sort of." He realized that this probably wasn't the most efficient way to convince the others that he knew what he was doing, but he was too tired and too worn-thin to care. He'd known it would be difficult, and so had they.**

**A sort-of plan was better than no plan at all.**

**"There's going to be a demonstration at the center of the Muggle government, and my task is to lure you there and kill you. He obviously put a lot of thought into the details," Ezra murmured, biting at his nails again. "But it isn't foolproof. They'll be far away, and I only need to make it look nasty. As long as you look dead, that will be good enough. I don't think they'd bother after that…"**

**He realized that he was rambling, and that his rambling might unsettle the others, so he looked up at Josiah only. The other boy's hazel eyes were wide but determined.**

**"And, er, how were ye planning to make me look dead without my, uh, being actually dead?" he asked with some level of politeness.**

**Ezra cleared his throat.**

**"Well," he mumbled, guiltily. "That was the sort of part."**

* * *

Noah cursed, glaring at Ezra heatedly, but didn't add anything else, looking at Jo instead, waiting for the moment his boyfriend would point out how idiotic and suicidal that whole thing was.

Daniella closed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. That must be another of those horrible dreams she'd had in the last few days. It had to be.

But it wasn't. And, as she realized that it was really happening, and that Ezra was still going forward with that plan, because Dumbledore had said it was the only way, she felt something bubble in her stomach more powerful than she'd ever felt before. Hatred.

Logan had just made it very clear that he didn't even care if he stepped on her and on the people she loved to achieve his twisted goals. The mere thought of him made her sick, so she shook her head and looked at Ezra instead.

He looked as ill as she felt and much more exhausted. It pained her to look at him. She wanted to just grab him and take him away to one of the places they'd been by themselves; to one of the places where he still smiled and felt some level of happiness.

But that wasn't possible, so she would have to just figure out a way to get those two out of that situation alive…

She hadn't paid attention to the whole exchange, but Jo's question made her look up at them; his words reminded her of something she'd read a long time ago. "Draught of the living death…" she murmured, looking from Jo to Ezra, not sure they'd heard her.

* * *

**Jo gave Noah a reproachful look that didn't carry much heat. He understood their concern, but really, it was his life on the line here, wasn't it? If Ezra said he had a plan, Josiah believed him, and that was that. As far as he was concerned, they'd already reaped enough consequences from not giving him the benefit of the doubt.**

**He had to admit that Ezra didn't look very confident, and that was even apart from looking like he might drop into an open grave at any moment. Merlin's pants, the boy was going grey-headed, and he was nineteen! But he steeled himself against his doubts and, with as much calmness as he could muster, looked around at the others.**

**It wasn't until Daniella spoke that Ezra looked up at her, too, and a kind of spark lit behind his dark eyes.**

**"Yes," he said immediately. A million thoughts flashed across his tired mind, and he nodded fiercely.**

**"Sorry, what?" Jo said, feeling as though he deserved to be kept informed about any draughts that might pass over his lips.**

**"The Draught of Living Death," Ezra repeated, more clearly this time. The thoughts in his head were too much, and he stood, although too abruptly; he was dizzy for a moment and stumbled into his armchair before crossing the room. "We only barely covered it in NEWT level, but…"**

**"Aye, well, I never was much for Potions," Josiah said, taking on a petulant tone again. "So I'll thank you for explaining it slowly and simply. And do sit back down, you're giving us all a fright."**

**Ezra sank into a different chair obediently, still far away in thought.**

**"You'd have to pick the right moment to drink it, of course, down to almost the second," he murmured. "And there would need to be someone with a Wiggenweld Potion to alleviate the effects after they're convinced."**

* * *

Daniella brought a shaky hand to rub her temple as she thought furiously. She had just barely scraped by with an acceptable potion when she'd had to make it in school. Maybe, maybe if they had some time to practice it, maybe she and Ezra could do it…

She met Jo's eyes. There was no room for maybes. They had to make it. She wouldn't lose her best friend. And she definitely wouldn't let her baby grow up without a father.

"It's a potion that makes you look like you're dead, even though you'll just be sleeping," she added quickly as Noah opened his mouth to protest again. She nodded when Ezra kept murmuring. "There's an antidote we can give you after… after they're satisfied."

Daniella walked over to Ezra, lowering herself next to his chair, looking at him with as much confidence as she could gather, considering the daunting task ahead of them. "How will you make it look like you were the one who killed him?" She asked.

* * *

**Josiah clung to Daniella's words carefully, nodding slowly as the description of the potion sank in. It sounded perfect, yes, but…**

**"And you can make it?" he asked, looking from Daniella to Ezra tentatively.**

**"Yes," Ezra said confidently, putting a hand over Daniella's as she knelt beside him. She didn't look that convinced, he noted, and so he nodded at her pointedly. "We can."**

**Her question gave him pause, but only a little.**

**"Like this, I suppose," he murmured and, without warning, procured his wand from his sleeve and hauled a jet of green light at Josiah.**

**It bounced harmlessly against his chest and fizzled, but Jo wasn't the least bit impressed. He put one hand over his chest defensively.**

**"You should probably practice falling a bit," Ezra mumbled innocently.**

* * *

Daniella looked at the flash of green light with a start, but nothing happened to Jo. "Well I guess that solves that problem."

Noah could only look at them with his mouth slightly open in disbelief. "Are we seriously considering this?" He asked finally, knowing the answer all too well. He turned to Ezra. "No offense, I know you're really good at potions and all that, but what if they decide they want to take Jo with them or… or… what if they want to take part in the _'fun'_?!"

* * *

**Ezra looked at Noah, feeling immediately defensive against any sentence that the other boy felt he needed to preface with the words 'no offense.'**

**"They won't," he said, more confidently than he actually felt. "Once they check to make sure he's 'dead,' they'll take me to their headquarters. They can't move his body from a public place – it would be incredibly suspicious, wouldn't it?" he said dryly. "They're testing me. He didn't think I would actually agree to it."**

**He realized how this sounded after he had said it, and winced a bit.**

**"That is to say, I wouldn't do it, obviously. But if he knew that, then there wouldn't be any point in me running myself ragged for the Order, would there?"**

**He looked to Josiah for any sign of acceptance.**

**"I trust you," Jo told him, kindly. Then, he turned to Noah. "I trust him," he repeated, taking Noah's hands in his own. "And so do you. We've done so many crazy things, love, this really isn't anything much."**

**He gave his boyfriend an amused look, hoping that it would calm his nerves.**

**"Besides, you'll be with the Order, and after everything, you'll come and fetch me, and… everything will be fine. Right?" he looked over his shoulder at Ezra, who nodded.**

**"Right," he said, with an air of exhausted finality. He then looked up at Noah again. "I promise, Ledger. I'd never drag any of you into this if I wasn't… absolutely, positively sure that we could pull it off."**

**He gave Daniella's hand a gentle squeeze, hoping to see trust and reassurance in her eyes.**

* * *

Daniella studied the other couple and nodded, slowly at first, then more vigorously. "We'll start practicing tomorrow morning. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can get it right, and also the potion to wake Jo up again." She met Noah's eyes, knowing all too well how he was feeling at that moment, and trying to show him she understood. "Don't worry about that, Noah. It's the best way to keep Jo safe."

Noah furrowed his brow in a sulky expression, but he looked resigned. He looked down at his boyfriend and pulled him closer. "Oh, I'll definitely be there," he said simply. He was considering suggesting he could take the Polyjuice potion to look like Jo and take the potion himself instead, but he realized that would mean even more work for Dan and Ezra, and he didn't want them to be distracted from their main concern.

He looked at Jo, looking so firm and confident, and murmured, "Just don't dare getting yourself hurt after all the times you yelled at me for the same reason."

Daniella, in the meantime, fixed her eyes on Ezra. They'd come a long way since they'd started dating; slowly but surely, she was starting to understand him better, to accept him better. He was going to do that, for his own reasons. She'd do anything for him, so if he needed her to be strong and confident, then she'd find a way to be just that.

She kissed the back of his hand, her hand still closed around his. "You're right. We've done more complicated things before. We can do this as well." It took effort, but she smiled at him. "But now you need to eat. I promised Pokey we'd both eat before going to bed. And I'm not carrying you upstairs, with or without magic."

* * *

**Josiah leaned into Noah's chest and huffed out a small laugh.**

**"Aye, aye," he said, with amusement. "Don't ye worry. You know how resilient I am."**

**Ezra, whose attention had slowly begun to drift away, closed his eyes and tried to relish the feel of Daniella's lips on his hand. It was difficult; he was so tired now that his hand barely felt attached to his body.**

**At her words, he managed a low groan.**

**"I'm not hungry," he mumbled, slumping to one side and resting his head on her shoulder. No sooner had he done this than Pokey came bustling into the living room with a large silver tray balanced above her head. As she ran, her ears flopped rhythmically.**

**"Mistress Daniella called for Pokey?" she said cheerfully. The platter, which was full of finger sandwiches and tiny meat pies, cast her completely in shadow.**

**Silently, Jo leaned over and grabbed one of the meat pies, as though hoping no one would notice.**

* * *

Noah snorted without amusement. "Yeah, you remember you said that the next time I come back with a scratch…" But he couldn't stay upset with Jo for more than a few minutes, and those sandwiches looked really tasty, so he grabbed a couple at the same time, drowning his anxiety with food.

Daniella gave a worried and annoyed stare at Ezra, but before she could answer, Pokey came running into the room. She hadn't quite gotten used to that yet, but she didn't see the point in explaining she hadn't exactly "called" Pokey. All the better, though.

"Thank you, Pokey. Perfect timing!" She smiled at the elf gratefully, then gave Ezra her best stern look. "Cigarettes aren't actual food, you know!" She grabbed a meat pie from the tray, planted a quick kiss on Ezra's lips and waved the pie in front of his mouth. "Now, consider this. Dinner lasted exactly 9 minutes in my stomach tonight. And, right now, I'm going to eat exactly as much as you eat." She smiled sweetly at her husband. "So, how is it going to be?"

* * *

**Pokey beamed at Daniella's praise, hoisting the tray up a little higher so that it was easier for her to reach. The fact that everyone appeared to be eager to try her cooking made her visibly excited.**

**"Pokey lives to serve," she added, happily.**

**Ezra lifted his heavy head and gazed at his wife pleadingly, to no avail.**

**"I also had coffee," he mumbled, guiltily. As she spoke, Ezra mulled her words over carefully; when she informed him that she'd only kept her dinner down for nine minutes, he managed a small wince.**

**"But—" he started, tentatively. "Come now, I shouldn't say that's strictly fair…" he turned his pleading gaze to Ledger, just in time to see Josiah fishing his wand out of his pocket with his meat-pie-free hand.**

**"What are you doing?" Ezra said, notably more alert. Josiah took a couple of steps forward, and Ezra shrunk against the chair; the other boy brandished his wand, and Ezra furrowed his brow.**

**"No," he said, sharply. "Don't do that—"**

**His protest came too late, though, and he found himself submerged in a cloud of pink sparkles that quickly evaporated. Much against his will, Ezra huffed out a small chuckle.**

**"Merlin's beard," he muttered, the ghost of the smile still lingering on his lips. "I do hate that, you know."**

**He looked back to Daniella, remembered her words, and allowed a small smirk to play on his lips.**

**"Fine," he murmured.**

**Reluctantly, he reached for a finger sandwich and nibbled at the end of it.**

* * *

Noah watched Daniella and Ezra with amusement and very glad he wasn't the one in the receiving end of such an ultimatum. He raised his hands helplessly when Ezra looked at him, his mouth still too full to be able to speak.

Daniella, in turn, was trying to keep a straight face in order to not lose her authority, but she grinned when Ezra finally picked up a sandwich. "Now, that's the husband I love," she murmured, before looking at the meat pie she was still holding.

She studied it for a long moment, then wrinkled her nose. Suddenly, the picture of a tray full of deliciously cooked shrimp with butter and lemon came to her mind. She licked her lips and looked sadly at her meat pie.

She glanced at Ezra sheepishly, then her eyes shifted to Pokey. "Pokey? Is there any shrimp in the kitchen?"

* * *

**Ezra wasn't sure whether it had been the Cheering Charm or the simple act of putting food in his mouth, but after he had taken the first bite of sandwich, he realized that he was, actually, ravenously hungry. The rest of the sandwich disappeared in a flash.**

**Meanwhile, Pokey snapped to attention as Daniella addressed her. She pulled her small hands away to assume a position of deep thought; the tray hovered harmlessly, magically suspended.**

**"Yes, Mistress, I believe so, yes," she squeaked, nodding her large head. "Would Mistress like some shrimp? Boiled? Fried? Steamed?"**

**Ezra, who had just finished inhaling two more finger sandwiches, looked back at the small house elf.**

**"Shrimp sounds nice," he said, covering his full mouth with the palm of his hand.**

**Josiah gave Noah an amused look, then grabbed another meat pie.**

**"I reckon you have some catching up to do, love," he said to Daniella with a pointed grin.**

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

Daniella rubbed her eyes as she carefully read the recipe one more time; then, she frowned accusingly at the cauldron. She'd definitely followed the instructions correctly this time, and still she hadn't gotten any better results than when she'd tried to do it in Hogwarts.

She huffed out a breath, dropping herself on the stool and biting her lip as she looked at the book, deep in thought.

The knock on the door startled her. "Come in," she said, thinking it could be Ezra. She'd made a half-hearted attempt at waking him up in the morning, but he was sleeping so soundly and peacefully, she didn't want to interrupt his much needed rest.

It was Noah's head peeking into the potion brewing room, though. "Er, hey," he started with an unsure smile. "There you are…"

Daniella raised an eyebrow, amused. "Yeah, I was trying to make the potion. Trying being the key word," she added, casting another glare at the stubbornly pink liquid. "Do you need something?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know if you wanted to eat something, since you didn't come down for lunch…" It was only partly true. Noah also wanted to see if they were succeeding at making the potion or not.

"Lunch?" Daniella repeated, straightening up. "Is it lunch time already? Where's Ezra?" She said, wondering why he hadn't come to meet her yet.

"It's _past_ lunch time," Noah corrected. He shrugged. "I haven't seen him yet. He didn't show up either. Jo thinks he's still sleeping…"

* * *

**Ezra stirred slowly, wallowing a bit in the expansive sea of covers before bothering to open his eyes. He rolled over gently to look at Daniella's side of the bed, but she wasn't there; he blinked and squinted into the harsh light pouring in through the window.**

**He wondered, dully, what time it was.**

**It had been weeks since he'd had a full night's sleep, and almost three months since he'd had a nice dream. He lifted himself up with a strength that surprised him; had he been that weak for so long? He stood, examining himself in the mirror.**

**He really had gotten thin – his pajamas were clinging to him pathetically. And his hair…**

**Annoyed, he looked away and blew his bangs from his face with a puff. He left the room and made his way through the hall and down the stairs. There was no one about, which was strange; they'd agreed to start practicing first thing in the morning, and nobody had bothered to wake him. He checked the kitchen and the living room before deciding to take a peek in the potion closet.**

**He reached out for the doorknob, pushed the door inward, and hesitated as it hit something solid. He poked his head in the small crack.**

**"Oh," he said. "Sorry, Ledger." His gaze traveled over Noah's shoulder to rest on Daniella. He smiled.**

**"Shouldn't we have breakfast before we get started?" he asked innocently, looking pointedly at the violently pink potion.**

* * *

Daniella was still deciding if she was hungry enough to take a break when the door opened again.

Her greeting smile died when she followed Ezra's gaze towards her attempt at a draught of the living death. Flushing almost as pink as the potion, she vanished it with a quick flick of her wand. "Don't mind that," she said with the same hint of annoyance.

"Breakfast has come and gone, Greengrass," Noah said with a wicked smile. "If you hurry, maybe you'll find some leftovers from lunch, though," he teased.

* * *

**Ezra blinked into Daniella's brusque greeting, giving her a wounded look.**

**"I wasn't minding," he mumbled, sliding into the room around Noah and joining her by the cauldron. He began taking quick stock of the ingredients with his eyes, then absentmindedly lifted his hand to his mouth so that he could bite at his fingernail. If Daniella was having this much trouble… he shook the thought from his mind.**

**They would definitely figure it out, he repeated to himself silently.**

**But not on an empty stomach.**

**"Lunch?" he said suddenly, looking over at Noah. "What time is it?"**

**Only a moment passed before he rounded on Daniella again; he rested a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiled indulgently.**

**"You haven't eaten, have you?" he purred into her ear in his own special brand of loving accusation. "I'll take over here. You and Ledger can go and have lunch."**

* * *

Daniella looked away guiltily after lashing out at him. It wasn't his fault if she was frustrated. But she was… very much. She was also starting to feel claustrophobic in there. She raised her eyes to Noah, realizing she didn't know what time it was either.

Noah looked from one to the other, rolled his eyes, and said, "It's a quarter to four," he said finally. "I want as much as anyone else for that thing to be brewed right, but you should eat," he said very matter-of-factly after Ezra, glancing at Dan's belly.

Daniella, who had leaned into Ezra, huffed. She was used to Jo and Ezra, but even Noah was ganging up on her now. "Oh, alright, alright." She rose, looked around the table for the ingredients she'd been using, making a mental note to ask one of the elves to buy more Valerian roots soon, and brushed her lips on Ezra's cheek. "I'll bring something up for you to eat," she murmured, managing a small smile before leaving the room after Noah.

They made their way through the corridors in silence, Noah unsure of how he could ask something without being annoying, Dan lost in her own thoughts.

"Where's Jo?" She asked, suddenly, coming to a pause. Noah took a few more steps before he, too, stopped and turned to face her. "He said he'd go to the library for a while…"

Daniella nodded slowly. "Yes, the library might be a good idea… maybe there's something we don't know yet," she murmured to herself. She could feel Noah's exasperated stare on her, still. "I'll ask Pokey to bring me a snack to the library," she said dismissively. "I'll see you later, Noah."

And she took off to the library Jo had been exploring lately.

* * *

**Josiah reclined precariously in one of the steep-backed leather armchairs in the west wing library. He had a book cradled in his lap – Ye Olde Book of Charms Moste Black – which he was studying intensely.**

**He barely heard the faraway door open and shut, and he let the front two legs of his chair fall to the floor unceremoniously so that he could look behind him.**

**"Hi, love," he said kindly, sliding the open book onto the hardwood table. "Have ye eaten anything yet? Pinky's just brought me some… erm…" he motioned vaguely to a large bowl of stew made of something undoubtedly delicious that he couldn't identify. Beside the bowl was a large mound of butter toast. "Well, you're welcome to it," he finished, smiling.**

**He noticed that she was strangely quiet, and his face fell a little.**

**"Everything alright?" he pressed, fixing his wide hazel gaze on her.**

* * *

Daniella met Jo's eyes briefly as she crossed the library, a rather large room compared to the potion closet, and took a seat across from her friend at the table. She'd wanted the fresh air, but somehow, being in a larger room didn't help her keep her emotions contained at all.

Sighing, she mechanically poured stew into a bowl and noisily dragged it closer to her. She stirred it absentmindedly and gave a little shrug. "That potion is hard, is all," she said slowly. "I can't even get that right," she mumbled under her breath.

She'd woken up in a pretty good mood, so why was she feeling so surly, all of a sudden? And why were those dark thoughts coming back to her mind right now?

* * *

**Jo smiled as Dan prepared to eat; as long as she was taking care of herself, he thought, that was what really mattered.**

**"Well, it's only been half a day," he said encouragingly. "And if you and Ezra can't figure it out betwixt you, I'm a monkey's uncle. Did he finally wake up, by the by?" he asked, with a twinge of amusement.**

**Although he'd already snuck a leftover meat pie from the kitchen a while earlier, he grabbed a piece of toast absentmindedly.**

**"You know, some of these really are dreadful," he mumbled, flipping by another page in the musty book. "I almost feel dirty reading them. 'Groin-Mangling Hex.'" He shuddered.**

* * *

Daniella nodded, smashing a potato with her spoon. "He took over trying to brew the potion while I eat; Noah escorted me here," she said in what she'd intended as a teasing tone, but she wasn't very successful.

Her upper lip twitched in what could've been a smile. She slurped a little bit of stew and tried really hard to come up with a witty, funny reply. That was what she'd come looking for, after all. Jo could always cheer her up. But she could only think about Ezra… and herself.

"He is probably going to figure it out," she said at last, as if the topic had never changed.

* * *

**"Oh?" Jo said, quirking an eyebrow. They had all been tiptoeing around Ezra, and for good reason, but Noah's mood as of late had been an entirely different beast. He had been increasingly afraid that his boyfriend would become resentful about not being listed for more action now that they were all involved in the war. "I think he's… well, between you and me, I think he's feeling a bit left out," Jo said quietly. "Ezra gets to do all that running off, you know; I reckon he might be jealous."**

**He smiled apologetically at his friend for rambling while she was trying to eat.**

**"Well, I should hope one of you will," he said with a sharp laugh. "I'm not keen to think of the alternativ—"**

**There was an explosion from downstairs that made the floor shake and the chandelier rattle, and Jo put an open palm over his heart to steady himself.**

**He looked at Dan with wide eyes before swallowing nervously.**

**"Well, that was certainly… do you think we should go check…?"**

* * *

Daniella dropped the spoon and took a piece of toast instead, dipping it in the stew before bringing it carefully to her mouth. She raised disbelieving eyes to Jo. "Well," she started, her mouth still full. She swallowed with effort and proceeded, "he shouldn't be jealous. Have you taken a good look at Ezra, lately?"

She closed her eyes, regretting her brusque words, but before she could apologize, the entire division shook with the explosion. She closed her hands around the bowl that rattled on the table, her eyes widening as she looked at her friend. "What the hell…?"

She got to her feet immediately, worried something might've happened to Ezra. She opened the door and looked at both sides of the corridor. "Where did it come from, did you realize?"

* * *

**"It was definitely downstairs," Jo replied quickly, following her quickly out the door and into the corridor. He hurried down the stairs, spun the corner with the help of the rail, and stopped in his tracks as there was a trail of fumes wafting from the potion closet at the end of the hall.**

**"Ezra?" he called out uncertainly. He couldn't see anything from the smoke, and the acrid odor in the air wasn't helping his nerves any.**

**"I'm fine," Ezra coughed from somewhere in the center of the cloud. "It's fine."**

**"The potion's fine?" Josiah asked doubtfully, making his way down the small hallway.**

**"Well, no," Ezra replied, brushing his bangs away from his forehead with a sticky, purple-splattered hand. He saw Daniella coming down the hall behind Josiah, and he offered her a sheepish half-smile.**

**"I just… uh, I thought I'd try stirring it the other way around," he explained, a little breathlessly. "I thought it might make the asphodel more potent."**

**He paused.**

**"And it did," he finished, lamely.**

* * *

When Daniella's heart caught up with her, she had already caught up with Jo and taken a thorough look over Ezra. Deciding he wasn't hurt, she let her anger bubble up closer to the surface. "Couldn't you have waited until I joined you before you started making stuff up? What if something worse had happened? What if it was poisonous or- or…"

* * *

**"Wouldn't that have been worse?" Ezra asked innocently, wiping his sticky hand on his already potion-saturated pajama top. He took a moment to survey his elegant silver cauldron; it was charred around the top edge, but it was still intact. The explosion, he'd surmised after the fact, had been due to the overpowered asphodel, which had reacted violently with the sloth brain when stirred at the improper angle.**

**The room, too, was miraculously unscathed, although it was covered in thick purple goop.**

**At Daniella's next words, he managed to look appropriately apologetic.**

**"I'm sorry," he said, in an attempt to quickly placate her rising tide of emotion. "It was just – well, I had to try, didn't I? You know how these things are, darling."**

**Josiah looked between the two of them nervously before waving his wand in a swift semi-circle. A bit of the offending potion disappeared.**

**"Well, you did your best," he said to Ezra, smiling bravely. Ezra, however, shook his head distractedly.**

**"No, it's nowhere near good enough," he mumbled, his brow darkening. "There's got to be some trick to it… maybe if I added…" he trailed off pensively.**

* * *

Daniella glared at Ezra's innocent face and grabbed her wand, taking a step into the room. She was so frustrated she needed a moment to figure out the right spell she wanted to use, so she stood there for a moment, her wand hand trembling slightly in midair, before she started cleaning potion from the table and the book with the recipe.

Noah came running in that moment, wand in hand. He looked at the scene in front of him and slowly lowered his wand again. "That will certainly call some Muggle attention…" He gave Jo his best casual look. "Is he supposed to blow you up, is that what the potion makes?" He thought he was fairly successful at keeping an unconcerned tone in his voice.

Meanwhile, Daniella busied herself around the table. "You had to try," she grumbled under her breath. He had a point – she'd done her fair share of experimenting with potions before to know the possible outcomes – but right now, that didn't matter. What mattered was that he could've gotten hurt. Something could've gone terribly wrong.

She turned her head sharply to her husband. "You're not going to add anything else to any potion until you get changed. You still don't know what that thing might do your skin."

* * *

**Ezra watched her, wide-eyed and frozen, as she pulled out her wand and brandished it at him. His eyes flicked helplessly to Josiah, who looked equally uncertain.**

**When she settled for cleaning the splotches of potion from the book and table, he allowed himself to relax a smidgen. Then, as if on cue, Noah arrived at the scene fashionably late and ready to hex something.**

**"I could have blown a crater in the floor and the Muggles wouldn't have known," Ezra said dryly, giving Noah a sideways glance that one might give another who was perilously close to stepping on a landmine. "And no. It was an accident. I was…" he looked at Daniella cautiously before continuing. "Experimenting."**

**Once it became apparent that he wasn't going to be forgiven anytime very soon, Ezra sighed heavily and turned his gaze to the ceiling.**

**Hormones. The one thing he couldn't Transfigure.**

**At her snappish reply, he managed to scrape up enough pride to look mildly affronted. It was only sloth brain, he wanted to say, and none of those ingredients had ever shown any caustic properties to skin, but he bit back this bit of information and swallowed it whole.**

**"Yes, alright," he said evenly. "I'll go and change, then, and I'll be back down in a moment."**

**He scooted past Josiah and Noah carefully, so as not to soil them with ruined potion; Jo gave him a sympathetic look as he passed.**

**"Well, that was eventful," he said breathlessly, after Ezra had gone.**

* * *

Daniella braced her hands on the table and lowered her head, not willing to face anyone at the moment.

She opened her mouth, but Ezra was gone. That was the last thing he needed, something else to bother him. She should've controlled herself. She glanced at Jo, then glared at the ingredients still scattered on the table as if they'd personally offended her.

She decided to start cutting more sopophorous beans, mostly just to have something to do. And those bloody things were difficult to cut through, also! In her frantic motions, she made a few of them bounce all over when the knife failed to slice through it.

"Bloody things," she grumbled, taking the knife and smashing it onto another bean to release some frustration. A gush of juice covered the table.

Daniella opened her mouth, surprised, and raised her knife to better look at the result. Since when did one of those beans have so much juice?!

"Wait a minute…" She looked at the potions book again, searching the line about the beans. It didn't say anything about crushing them. "How useless is this book?!" She said out loud, finally looking up at Jo and sighing. "Expect a few more explosions, because this is going to take a lot more experimenting. This recipe isn't very trustworthy…"

* * *

**Jo looked at Noah nervously, not daring to say anything. The tension in the room was thick, and it was mostly swirling around Dan like an almost palpable cloud.**

**He sighed.**

**"Noah, could you…" he trailed off, eager to change the subject but struggling to find a decent way. "…go to the kitchen and tell the elves to bring a little more food down here?" he finished sweetly, smiling warmly at his boyfriend. He took a couple of steps closer to Daniella, then, peering over at her hard work with the beans.**

**"Tricky little things, aren't they?" he sympathized, furrowing his eyebrows. Then, he brandished his wand. "Ye know, maybe if I put them in place with a Sticking Charm…"**

**No sooner had the words left his mouth than the river of juice had flowed out of the bean and onto the table.**

**"Ah, nevermind," he said, in a small, amused voice.**

**"Nevermind what?" said Ezra, who had returned to the small space in a fresh set of clothes. He followed Josiah's gaze to the puddle on the table. "Merlin's pants, how did you do that?" he murmured frantically, nudging in for a closer look. The expression on his face was a mixture of wonder and a little jealousy. "I couldn't even get a quarter as much."**

**Jo took a small step back, leaving Ezra and Dan hovering around the small, spent bean.**

**"Well, I'm off to the library again, then," he said mysteriously, backing his way out of the room with care. "You two kids have fun, aye? No craters, aye?"**

* * *

Noah gladly took Jo's suggestion. Women could be pretty scary, sometimes. Feeling a wave of sympathy towards Ezra, he nodded and quickly walked away, murmuring "Good luck," to the Slytherin boy as they passed by each other.

After the initial moment of surprise, Daniella quickly grabbed a small bowl and, with the help of her wand, transferred all the precious juice into it.

"Nothing like being pissed off to coerce juice out of Sopophorous beans…" She said, taking another wrinkly bean and bringing it closer to her eyes. "Who would say crushing them would help…" She looked at the book, partly trying to decide if she could scribble on it, mostly just to avoid Ezra's gaze for a few seconds longer.

But they were alone now, and the silence was growing heavy and uncomfortable. Putting down the bean and the knife, she finally said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

* * *

**While Daniella transferred the juice into the bowl, Ezra busied himself by preparing the solution of water and African sea salt. Once the two substances were mixed, Ezra removed his hands slowly and carefully, so as to be certain not to jostle the mixture.**

**"Perhaps we should write it down?" he suggested after a long moment, unable to fully meet her eyes as he picked at a handful of Valerian roots. At the lingering silence, he dared to look up, but quickly lowered his gaze again.**

**"I'm sorry," they said at the same time, and he cleared his throat awkwardly in the aftermath. He studied her, then, her long, slightly mussed hair and bright round eyes; his lips twitched almost imperceptibly in what might have been a smile if it had had a little more _oomph_.**

**"No, it's alright," he said gingerly, grabbing his own silver knife from the edge of the counter. "It was a stupid idea, really. I should have known better."**

**The magical timer issued a merry ding, and Ezra carefully grabbed the beaker of water and salt and poured it, slowly, into the slightly charred silver cauldron.**

* * *

"No, it's not alright!" Daniella insisted, a little more abruptly than necessary. She took a deep breath. "You were doing what's necessary," she said, repeating the words they'd all been listening so many times since they had joined the Order.

Seeing Ezra finish up with the water, she started to measure the essence of wormwood. "I just wish I could do more," she admitted, and even though her voice was low, it echoed in the small compartment. She took another glance at his tired, but still so handsome features. "Can you hold the cauldron?" She asked quickly, when she'd measured exactly 40 ounces.

* * *

**Ezra looked up at her cautiously with dark, heavily-bagged eyes before turning his gaze downward again. He'd thought it would be safe after he apologized, but clearly subtlety and care were still required in the matter.**

**"You're doing quite a lot," he said softly, meeting her eyes again. This time, he offered her a small smile. "You've really showed those beans, in any case. I doubt we'll have any trouble now."**

**At her request, he placed his fingertips on the edge of the cauldron and, with utmost care, tilted it to the left.**

* * *

Daniella narrowed her eyes, giving him a suspicious look, trying to decide if he was mocking her. But of course he wasn't; just like Noah and Jo fussing around her weren't either. Still, it didn't make her feel any better. Not only couldn't she do much of anything to help the Order right now, she was more of a liability than anything else.

She dropped ten drops into the cauldron, waited for him to tilt it the other way, then dropped ten more.

She examined the top quality Valerian roots carefully, picking the ones that seemed the prettiest and skillfully slicing them into perfectly shaped squares and placed them in a beaker with water. "How's the color?" She asked Ezra, restarting the timer.

* * *

**Ezra didn't wilt under her critical stare, although it was tempting. Instead, he watched the liquid pool into the cauldron with rapt attention. Once she'd added half of it, he gently tilted the cauldron in the other direction. After all the liquid had been added, he let the heavy silver container rest on its wide bottom.**

**"It's very purple," he informed her, peering into the potion with cautious interest. "Eggplant, maybe. What are we aiming for?" he asked, raising his eyebrows with the question. He let his gaze drift momentarily over the soaking Valerian roots before his eyes glazed over with deep thought.**

**"You know," he said suddenly, after a moment. "Perhaps stirring it clockwise from the start wasn't a good idea, but… suppose…"**

**His hands slid casually into his pockets.**

**"Suppose that I added a clockwise stir somewhere near the middle or the end," he mused out loud. "Perhaps it would be just enough kick…"**

* * *

Daniella read the recipe one more time and looked at the picture on the book as Ezra described the potion. "The book says it should be darker than that, but considering how unhelpful it has been, I think that's a good thing," she said slowly, peeking into the cauldron. "I think it looks good."

She took the Sopophorous bean's juice. "Moment of truth," she said and poured the juice into the cauldron. The potion became a lot clearer than it had when she'd just sliced the beans. A small smile blossomed on her lips. "Yes, much better…" she murmured.

She looked up at him, pondering. "Maybe… try adding it near the end at first." The timer rang again. "Let me just add the Valerian roots and you can try it."

* * *

**Ezra watched as the juice blended in with the potion; where it touched, swirls of lighter purple appeared. He was pretty sure that was a good sign.**

**Also, Daniella's smile did him good. He smiled, too.**

**"Good idea," he mused, picking a long silver stirring rod from a stack of them on a nearby shelf. He waited patiently while Daniella added the soaked roots – potioneering was a patient activity, after all, and it would have been a shame to spoil their progress needlessly.**

**"You may want to stand back," he said distractedly, dipping the stirring rod into the solution and giving it a swift, smooth first stir. "I'm not entirely sure about this…"**

* * *

Daniella nodded, put down the beaker and obediently took a couple of steps back, standing against the counter on the opposite wall.

She bit her lower lip as Ezra started to stir. By the time he added the clockwise stir, Daniella was holding her breath, eyeing the potion cautiously. When nothing exploded, she leaned forward, peeking into the cauldron over Ezra's arm.

The potion was a perfect light pink.

Daniella smiled more widely. "Great job, love," she murmured, resting a hand between his shoulder blades as she approached the cauldron again.

* * *

**Ezra stirred slowly and evenly, careful not to make any sudden movements. As soon as he had stopped the momentum and given the liquid one good clockwise stir, tiny tendrils of pink had already begun to branch out from the stirring rod.**

**He released a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and offered Daniella a relieved, slightly boastful half-smirk as he pulled the stirring rod from the cauldron. The droplets that landed on the table were as clear as water…**

**When he looked back into the cauldron, the potion had turned clear, too.**

**"I daresay we make something of a formidable team," he said finally, leaning over and giving her a quick, soft peck on her jawline. Then, he sighed; her hair tickled his nose.**

**"I do hope this works," he murmured, after a moment. "I suppose the rest will be up to Johnston's acting skills."**

* * *

Daniella took the bottle she'd gotten from the kitchen and filled it with potion. She raised it to the level of her eyes, checking it against the light, relieved. "It seems like we do. It really isn't all that difficult, if you have the right recipe," she said, casting another accusatory look at the book.

"This could easily pass as a bottle of water," she said slowly, her hand dropping to rest around his waist. "As long as he doesn't panic, it shouldn't be too hard for you two to have the right timing. Then, it'll be up to Noah…" She looked away. Once more, she wouldn't be able to be there and help. "When do you have to do it?" She asked, trying to keep her voice even.

* * *

**"And a sense of adventure," Ezra added, smirking more widely. As he felt her hand around his waist, he leaned into her, inspecting the potion critically. At her words, he nodded; it looked identical to water, in fact. They'd have to be careful not to leave any of it lying around.**

**"Will he panic?" he asked Dan, looking a little skeptical. He didn't want to sound like he lacked confidence in the other boy – especially not when it was both of their lives on the line – but he couldn't help thinking that Johnston wasn't exactly, well…**

**He lacked a certain degree of subtlety.**

**He sighed at being reminded about the event at all; he'd slept so long that he'd almost forgotten why they were brewing the potion at all.**

**"Two weeks' time," he said, quietly.**

* * *

"I don't think he will," Daniella said, not without a sense of loyalty towards her friend. "He held his own pretty well against Logan, that summer before our last year in Hogwarts." Her lip twitched at the memory of that night, and she chuckled. "But I wouldn't be surprised if we gained a new pet after that…" She shook her head, thinking of the chicken Pea had ended up adopting.

Then, she noticed she was laughing, and the chuckle slowly died. She sighed instead. Bloody hormones…

She looked up at her husband; his dark eyes seemed even darker, like a shadow had covered them. "Two weeks is a long time," she said. "Do you think we can go out and buy a crib first?"

* * *

**-/-/-**

* * *

_A few days later_

**Ezra had passed the Bibble & Jives storefront countless times, but he had obviously never had reason to go in. His mother had assumingly gone there for him – all magical families did, eventually – but she had never talked about it, and he had certainly never asked. The display window was full of prams and pacifiers and toys. The infant clothing fit snugly on the odd, faceless mannequin babies.**

**He found it all rather unnerving, and so looked to Daniella for support.**

**"Well, then," he said bravely, reaching for the door and holding it open for her. "After you, darling."**

**He followed her into the impressively large space; he hadn't expected that a store for baby things would be so large. A stand of toy giraffes caught his eye, and he paused to look at them: Charmed Teething Giraffe, the label read. Able to withstand all manner of chewing, throwing, bending, squeezing, and most unintentional spells.**

**"Merlin's beard," Ezra murmured to Daniella. "If only a real giraffe could do all that, I imagine they'd be much more prolific."**

* * *

Daniella stopped in front of the window and looked at the exposed items with a mix of fascination and anxiety. It suddenly downed on her, much more intensely than ever before, what they were getting into.

Ezra held the door for her, snapping her out of her thoughts. The store was large and incredibly colorful, much unlike the rest of the Diagon Alley lately, with all the most recent events. There were only a few customers in there, some of them carrying excited children by the hand, a couple of very pregnant women, and a man trying to take one of those giraffe toys off of the hands of his baby.

"I had a few of these toys when I was little, but I don't think any of them lasted as long as they claim." Daniella took one of the toys, a hippogriff. She gave Ezra an amused look. "They weren't this cute either, if I remember well!"

She kept looking at the shelves, and found a small section with alarm clocks shaped like animals. When she approached, a couple of them activated and said things like: "_Time for a nap!_" and "_Let's have a snack!_"

* * *

**"Did you?" Ezra asked, smiling a small smile and inspecting the giraffe more closely. He could almost picture a small Daniella playing with something like this… But after a moment, the smile faded, and he put the toy back on its shelf. "I don't remember any toys," he murmured.**

**The close aisles made the store feel a bit crowded despite its size, and Ezra couldn't help but feel a bit claustrophobic. He hadn't been around a crowd of people – normal, real people – in months. These people were raising children in the middle of a war, just like he and Daniella were going to… but they weren't fighting, he realized. All these people could do was hide and hope it would be enough.**

**A small girl looked up at him with wide eyes; with some hesitation, he smiled at her. He was suddenly painfully aware of the grey in his hair and the gaunt angles of his face.**

**The girl clung to her mother's robe and turned away from him, but he didn't have long to dwell on it, as the sound of the alarm clocks caught his attention.**

**He looked at Daniella, then back to the row of talking animals. They were all very colorful, he noted, with large, cartoonish features and happy pastel smiles.**

**If he was honest, he thought them a little absurd – but in the good way. He reached for the one shaped like a unicorn and examined it in his hand.**

**"Do you suppose she'd like something like this?" he asked softly, raising an eyebrow at Daniella.**

* * *

Daniella had been studying the pony clock when Ezra showed her the unicorn. "It's adorable and a girl would definitely love it," She said, but then raised an eyebrow at him. "But why are you so sure it's a girl?" She picked an owl clock and read the back of the box. "I love unicorns, but I thought boys weren't so fond of them," she teased.

* * *

**Ezra looked at Daniella for a few moments, then looked back down at the unicorn. He smiled again.**

**"It's a girl," he said. "I'm certain of it." He put the unicorn back on the shelf and turned around to look at another shelf, which was full of stuffed animals. He ran his finger gently along a pink silk ribbon which was tied in a bow around the neck of a white, fluffy bear.**

**"We haven't discussed names yet," he murmured, feeling a pang in his chest for some reason that he couldn't identify. Worry? Fear? Excitement? "Although I do suppose it can wait until after we find a crib."**

**He took two steps toward the large display of furniture, then turned and bent to whisper in her ear.**

**"For her," he whispered mischievously, smirking.**

* * *

Daniella put the owl down and looked at him. "Oh, well, if you are certain…" she said teasingly. She had never really given much thought to it. It didn't matter to her if it was a boy or a girl, but she had sort of assumed it would be a boy, for no particular reason.

She studied Ezra for a while longer, and found herself hoping he'd get his wish granted. "Then, we'll take the unicorn and you can explain your son why we bought him one," she smiled at him just as mischievously, taking one of the unicorn boxes off of shelf.

"Yes, maybe we should wait. I'm sure that'll be just as peaceful of a decision as the gender," she murmured.

They chose a few more toys and stuffed animals before moving on to find the cribs, but suddenly Daniella stopped, looking at the tiny shoes. Her stomach gave a small jump that had nothing to do with morning sickness and all to do with excitement and an awful urge to say '_Awwww_'.

She carefully picked a pair of small pink shoes and held them on her palm, showing them to Ezra. "Ok, we can have a girl," she grinned.


	33. St Mungo's Hospital

_**Chapter 33 - St Mungo's Hospital**_

Logan drained his glass, grimacing as the liquid burned his throat on the way down. He was bored, angry and frustrated. And it was all Greengrass's fault. He'd exposed Logan, who had been wrongfully blamed for the fiasco that was the attack in Stonehaven Harbor.

Now, all they trusted him to do was "assisting" Greengrass's mission. That word left him with a sour taste in his mouth. Someone like him, having done what he'd done, was now reduced to babysitting that boy.

He looked out the dirty window of the bar. But they would see. When he had the proof that Ezra was lying to all of them, he would get his long awaited revenge; and he'd be praised above the others.

An owl stormed into the bar, stopping at Logan's table. Logan's fingers brushed lazily against the wand resting on the table as he laid his eyes on the annoying little animal. He took his hand away from the wand and took the message, sure he'd feel like killing the stupid owl after he read what else he would have to do "for Greengrass".

His eyes widened slightly as he read the contents of the message, then narrowed as he crunched the piece of parchment in his hands. Oh, this was much more interesting.

He looked at his watch, trying to decide how to use this to his advantage. Then, he smiled. It was a Hogsmeade visit weekend, right? So, Ezra should be too busy at the shop to have known anything yet.

Logan took his wand and walked out of the bar, only looking to the side when the barman motioned to stop him from leaving without paying. The wizard immediately retreated.

Good, someone still knew their place. It was time to teach Greengrass a lesson too.

A few moments later, Logan had Apparated in Hogsmeade and was now making his way up the busy street to the small, dark looking shop where Ezra now worked.

* * *

**It was barely noon and Ezra was already beginning to question whether or not he really, truly wanted children. He decided that he did, of course; just not, if at all possible, children like these.**

**He had opened a small trinket and potion shop in Hogsmeade Village, just a few shops down from the Hog's Head where his "superiors" had thought it would be less conspicuous. It needed to be less conspicuous because it was a front for money laundering and business dealings for very dangerous, very demanding Death Eaters. Mostly, though, his job was to part stupid, soft-minded teenagers from their galleons. It was tiresome. He was, against his better judgment, incredible at it.**

**"Six galleons and a sickle, darling," he informed a pale, long-haired witch in her Hogwarts cloak who was eyeing him with altogether too much interest. He forced himself to smirk warmly. "Now, remember what we discussed. No more than two tablespoons in his juice – any more than that, and you won't want to bear witness to the fallout, believe me."**

**He finished wrapping the girl's purchase in thick brown paper and slid it toward her over the counter. Even through the nondescript covering, it made the telltale sound of heavy glass on wood.**

**She had just begun to scurry away when the bell over the door chimed again. He looked up and, with a brief sweep of his white-streaked bangs to one side, forced another smile.**

**It faded instantly; his mouth froze hesitantly between speech and silence, because he could not immediately discern that sort of mood the other boy was in, or how far he dared to push him.**

**"Logan," he said, after a moment. "Our next appointment isn't for two days."**

* * *

Logan didn't bother stepping aside, so the girl had no other option then to walk around him to leave the shop, while Logan looked over at Ezra with poorly disguised satisfaction. "Are a few teenagers too much of a workout for you, Greengrass? You seem…" He gave the younger boy and thorough glance, "worn out."

He took a few steps into the shop. Ezra didn't look anxious or in a hurry. That could only mean he didn't know anything yet. Good, that was really, really good. If he managed to keep him distracted for a few hours, maybe…

"Ah, yes, but something has come up. We need-" The door opened again, letting in the fresh summer breeze followed by a couple of giggling teenager girls.

Logan smirked. "Why don't I wait for you in the back, you can join me when you're done." He only hoped Greengrass didn't keep that notebook with him.

Without waiting for Ezra to reply, he made his way around the counter and disappeared behind a door on the corner. He waited a moment to make sure Ezra wouldn't follow him immediately.

He looked around the small space. When he heard voices on the other said of the door, he raised his wand and murmured, "_Accio_ notebook!"

The pillow on the single bed fell to the floor as the notebook flew into Logan's hands. He hovered the pillow back into its position before flipping through the pages of the notebook.

_It's time. We've gone to St. Mungo's._

Logan's smirk widened, his mood improving considerably. Greengrass hadn't seen this yet, he was sure. He wondered briefly who was '_we_', but before he could erase the message, the shop door opened and closed again. He slipped the notebook into his pocket and lazily settled on the one chair in the room.

* * *

**Ezra met Logan's eyes, facing the well-aimed barb with a particular sort of sardonic resignation. He knew how he looked; he felt ten times worse. The other boy might well have informed him that the sun was hot, or the sky blue.**

**The stench of alcohol finally reached him, rolling through the stale air that had been parted by Logan's breath. Ezra smiled a small, self-satisfied smile; his gaze lingered for a moment before he was forced to turn his attention to his new customers instead.**

**"Ladies," he said cordially. "Good afternoon."**

**More giggling. From his peripheral vision, he watched Logan disappear into the back room and shut the door behind him. His stomach clenched, and he ignored it, because there was nothing else to do. The suspicion that the other man was up to no good was, in itself, fruitless; weren't Death Eaters always up to no good?**

**The young Hufflepuff witches, totally oblivious to his plight and completely obsessed with their inane school gossip, sidled out after several long minutes without buying a single thing.**

**Ezra huffed out a sharp exhale and, with a quick flick of his wand, locked the shop's thick, dark wooden door. He walked as quickly as he could manage to the back room and quietly but firmly opened the door, secretly hoping to catch Logan in some undeniable act of suspicious activity. Instead, he found the other boy sitting placidly on his reading chair, smiling that mad smile.**

**The door clicked shut.**

**"What's come up?" he asked darkly without bothering to make any sort of conversational segue. "You told me that things were running smoothly. I was under the impression that we had earned special approval in the wake of last month's profits."**

* * *

"Ah, yes, we definitely did. And that got the attention of more important clients, it seems." Logan raised his empty hands. "I'd say we toast to that, but… I didn't want to offend you by snooping around uninvited," he said with mocking seriousness.

"Anyway, how's my sister?" He looked at Ezra questioningly. "You have been keeping in touch, haven't you? I'd hate to imagine her all alone in that big house of yours…"

* * *

**Despite the slightly stuffy warmth of the small room, Ezra felt a chill roll down his spine and fought hard to conceal it. He took another quick look around the room; nothing appeared to have been disturbed. He set his jaw a little more firmly.**

**Logan was drunk, or perilously close to drunk, and it wasn't out of character for him to say perturbing things for the fun of it. That was all.**

**With an elegant flick of his wrist, Ezra's thin ebony wand appeared at his fingertips. He cast a silent spell that caused a corner cabinet to creak open and its contents – a single half-empty bottle of malt whisky – to float toward the surly pair. He pulled it from midair with one hand and conjured a small wooden chair, not unlike the one Logan was occupying, and two small scotch glasses.**

**He sat. The scotch poured itself.**

**"She's doing well," he said lowly, giving his brother-in-law a disdainful, heavy look that probably could have been measured in tons. "When I'm not off running your little errands, we talk extensively. To a pregnant woman, a large house is not so much a problem as it is a challenge. She's been systematically redecorating… or so I've been told."**

**A pause.**

**"To your health."**

* * *

Logan met Ezra's look with a careless smile. "Ah, I see. I'll make sure to pay her a visit soon. She must be quite bored lately."

He took the glass and raised his glass. "And to my future nephew's… or niece's health."

He drained the glass, then put it down with a loud '_TOK!_' "But, unfortunately, we have business we need to attend to."

He took a deep breath. It took a considerable amount of alcohol to affect his senses, but maybe he shouldn't have drained this last glass so quickly. No matter, though.

"A potential… associate, is arriving in England anytime now. He's come from France and he has a high position in the Ministry, there, as well as a lot of money. Therefore, we could use his cooperation." He leaned forward, closer to Ezra. "And who best to convince him to do just that, than the persuasive Ezra Greengrass, who also has a lot of money and… well, an important family."

* * *

**Ezra, too, drained his small glass in one swallow. Instead of putting it down, however, he vanished it. As Logan began unraveling his slightly slurred spiel, Ezra fixed him with a calculating look. When Logan leaned forward, it took all of his willpower not to inch away.**

**"I see."**

**He had indeed been on several visits to France with his parents, although most of them were for beach holidays. The flattery was forced and paper-thin, as always. There was some other reason, some deeper, more sinister reason, that he had been selected to go. It was only by whom, and for what, that he had yet to discern.**

**"I appreciate your situation," he said levelly, searching the other boy's eyes. "It must be very important indeed if I'm to leave my position on the busiest shopping day until winter. If I close the shop now, I suspect we'll lose up to three-thousand galleons."**

**He paused again, somewhat wickedly.**

**"But that has been taken into account, I'm sure."**

* * *

"Yes, it has," Logan replied. "Don't worry, if you succeed in this, it'll be worth far more than that amount." At least to me, Logan thought to himself.

He looked around, found a small piece of parchment, took a pen from his shirt pocket and wrote down a name and an address. He pushed it towards Ezra. "He doesn't want to be seen in public having delicate meetings like these. You're to meet him tonight, at midnight, in this place."

He pondered that for a moment. That wouldn't send Ezra away soon enough, and he couldn't find out the notebook was missing just yet. He looked at his wrist watch, then back at Ezra. "You should go to Gringotts too. You see, he has a reputation of not being exactly trustworthy, of being a little impulsive… but I'm sure the right weight on his hand, as well as his men's, would be helpful, if you know what I mean."

* * *

**Ezra hadn't expected such a quick dismissal of such a large sum of money; it occurred to him, in a flash of dismay, that Logan might be telling the truth. He was being vain – this wasn't about him. He was simply the errand boy; nothing more, nothing less. Even with all of his elaborate, spectacular fuck-ups, Logan somehow managed to remain a step above him.**

**It didn't matter, of course. He wasn't a Death Eater, or even a Death Eater sympathizer, at heart. What did he care if Logan rose through the ranks, all the quicker to get himself killed?**

**At the same time – and much to his own horror – he knew that he cared more than he wanted to admit. No, he wasn't a dark wizard, but they didn't know that. He had been cooped up in that infernal little stuffy room, tending someone else's business, letting the people he despised profit from him… and this was the recognition he got? More errands! He felt something in his long-stifled temper flare ominously.**

**He hadn't seen his wife in months… the realization washed over him anew. To get back to her safely, he would do anything. He would endure anything. His pride was of no consequence now.**

**"Of course," he said, softly. "I understand. I will… use discretion."**

**He took the paper and examined it carefully with a passive expression. Then, grudgingly, he stood.**

**"If that's all, I'll take my leave. Getting to Sheffield by midnight will take some time."**

* * *

Logan waited long enough to make sure Ezra left without looking for the notebook. He could feel its warmth against his chest, a silent call for attention. He considered just erasing the message and leaving it there, but he couldn't risk Daniella sending another message anytime soon.

They left the small shop together, Logan Apparating out of there soon after Ezra did, taking the notebook with him.

Soon after, he was looking at the dirty, abandoned Muggle store that hid St. Mungo's Hospital. He looked around, making sure no one was watching, then stepped through glass and into the building.

He didn't waste time walking towards the Welcoming Witch sitting at her desk, smiling tiredly at the people in the line. He leaned against the desk, smiling warmly at the witch and ignoring the protests of the people he'd just passed.

The woman seemed slightly perturbed by his smile, but said, "Excuse me, sir, you'll have to wait in-"

"I'm here to see Daniella Hawke… Greengrass," Logan interrupted, speaking in a low, firm voice. He didn't know if she'd taken Greengrass's name or not, but she would be silly if she didn't use it there, to get VIP treatment. "She was admitted earlier; she was in labour."

"Oh…" The witch nodded, looking over at her notes, before meeting his eyes with a cautious look. "Yes, indeed. Are you the father?"

"No," Logan said after a short pause. "I'm her brother."

"Ah…" The woman seemed uncomfortable now. "You see, sir, I was requested not to let any other visits in her room, except for Mr. Greengrass, so…"

"Just tell me where she is," Logan insisted between clenched teeth, leaning forward, smiling sharply at the hint of fear in the witch's eyes. He very much enjoyed that look in a woman's eyes. But he needed the information she had, so he softened his smile and said in a hopefully pleading tone. "You see, she didn't mention me because she doesn't know I'm back in town. I just want to make her a surprise, that's all. And I have news about her husband."

The woman opened and closed her mouth, clearly hesitating. Logan could find out where she was the hard way, but he didn't want to cause a fuss in a public place if he could avoid it. The man behind him, whose skin was purple and scaling, resumed his protests, which helped the witch make her decision.

"Oh, alright," she said, offering him an unsure smile. "She was taken to an individual room in Third Floor. If you walk down the hallway, you'll see a sign saying 'Neonatal Unit' and…"

Logan didn't hear the rest of it, he spun on his heels and walked away.

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**"Are you sure it's fine to leave them?" Josiah hissed under his breath, adjusting a large lavender wizarding robe with quiet disdain. He had taken a few wispy white hairs from an elderly wizarding couple on holiday some months ago in preparation for his and Noah's disguise. From under his unfamiliar mop of excessively curled old woman hair, his tall, strapping boyfriend looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame in brown tweed.**

**His urge to giggle was quelled by his increasing irritation at the stale-smelling robe he'd found in the very back corner of a dusty closet in the Greengrass mansion.**

**"And whose idea was it with these bleeding shoulder pads in the bleeding robes? You mark my words, N— er—dear," he continued in a markedly high-pitched, warbling voice as a suit-clad man rushed past them. "I declare that shoulder pads will be out of fashion in as little as a decade. Unsightly little devils…"**

**He plodded along sourly, trying to keep step with Noah on their way to the cafeteria.**

* * *

Noah scratched his leg again. Those clothes made him feel itchy all over. Or maybe it was the unfamiliar sensation that the much older and less fit body produced in him. He wasn't ready to get old anytime soon, that was for sure.

"Hmm, I think we didn't have much of a choice," he said with amusement. Dan had gently, yet very firmly insisted that they went to eat something.

He looked sideways at Jo and his sudden rant. When they were alone again, he lowered his voice and offered Jo a bright grin. "I think Dan just wanted the chance to drool on Daphne by herself for a bit."

He opened the door for his boyfriend, who now looked like a very distinct grandmother.

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

Daniella adjusted the blanket around her daughter for the twentieth time. The Healer's assistant had come and gone, forcing her to drink a couple of potions in the meantime, but Daniella had barely looked away from her daughter.

She'd never thought it was possible to fall in love so instantly with such a small human being. For the first time, Daniella realized exactly how much her life had just changed. Little Daphne opened her dark, almost black eyes then, and a tiny hand peeked out from under the blanket. Ezra's eyes.

She felt the already familiar stab of longing once more, this time laced with concern. He hadn't arrived yet. Had he not seen the message? What if something had happened?

She'd convinced Jo and Noah to go to the tearoom and get something to eat while she fed Daphne, so when she heard the steps in the hallway an easy grin spread on her face as she whispered to her daughter, "Look, Daphne, daddy is coming."

The door opened and closed. Daniella raised her eyes… and her grin died, replaced by shock, followed by the purest form of dread she'd ever felt.

* * *

**Ezra seemed to be going the opposite way of the rest of Wizarding London, which parted hurriedly around him as he made his way away from Gringotts and toward the Leaky Cauldron. It made him feel lonely.**

**A grim smirk blossomed, barely perceptible, on his thin, chapped lips. If he was so lonely now that he took even the evening foot traffic as a personal offense, he was truly in a bad way. The only thing to do was to do his job – both of his jobs – and get home to Daniella as quickly as possible. Perhaps by the time he was finished, it would be time for her to have the baby…. His expression softened involuntarily at this. When he'd first been assigned, he'd checked the notebook compulsively every hour, and sometimes more often, for news. She hadn't had the time to write him that often, of course, and once he had realized this, he'd made it a point to check only every few hours at most.**

**It hurt too badly otherwise.**

**Upon reaching the Leaky Cauldron, he took a sharp turn out of the bustling street and, somewhat hesitantly, brandished his wand at the less-crowded side road.**

**With a deafening crack that made him wince, a large, violently purple triple-decker bus appeared in front of him.**

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**"Shall we buy something for Ezra?" Jo murmured worriedly, rustling around in his robe in search of the handful of galleons he had stored away. His hand chanced upon crackly, instead, and he pulled it out to examine it.**

**It was a clear-wrapped candy of indiscernible flavor; he made a face, flicked it into a nearby rubbish bin, and resumed his search.**

**"It's just that – you do suppose he's alright, don't you? I've been trying not to worry too awfully much, but you know how he gets. He does tend to brood. I'll just buy him a bit of sponge cake."**

* * *

At Jo's question, Noah looked absent-mindedly at the glass counter, with a variety of cakes, tarts and savory food exposed. He could lie, but what for? Jo knew Ezra as well as he did.

"No, I don't think he's alright. He's out there alone, with people like Logan…" He looked at Jo and smiled warmly at him. He couldn't imagine being apart from Jo for as long as Ezra had been apart from Dan now without it breaking his heart. "But we'll take care of him. He should be here any moment now, right?"

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

"Hello, sister." Logan was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. "How are you feeling?"

There was a moment of silence, before Daniella could react. Then, as she pulled her daughter closer to her protectively, she reached for the bedside table, searching for her wand.

Logan was quicker. With a flick of his own wand, he summoned hers and slipped it into his back pocket. "Now, now, Dany. I just want to see you and…" His eyes rested on the light pink blanket for a long moment, before he added, "meet my niece."

Daniella looked behind him, at the door, silently wishing Ezra would show up, or Noah, or someone… "What are you doing here, Logan?" _Where is Ezra,_ she wanted to ask.

Logan crossed the room, approaching the bed, his wand hand still hanging loosely on his side. Probably noticing the sudden tension in Daniella's body, the baby stirred.

Her brother raised a hand and slowly brushed a finger over Daphne's forehead in a possessive manner that chilled Daniella to the bone. She pulled her daughter away defensively, adjusting the blanket.

Logan's eyes darkened at her reaction. He looked around the empty room. "I'm surprised to find you alone here. How did you manage to get here?" When Daniella didn't answer, he added, "I offered to stay in Ezra's shop so he could come see you, but…" He shrugged helplessly. "I guess he had more important things to do."

Daniella closed her eyes. He just kept lying and lying, every time she saw him. "Just go away, Logan. There's nothing here for you."

Logan just smiled. Then, for Daniella's horror, he took the baby from her arms, taking a step back, away from her reach.

"Logan!" She called, her heart jumping to her throat. She tried to get up.

"Now, Dany, I'm sure you should be resting." Logan said teasingly, holding the newborn baby and studying her with a mix of curiosity and boredom. Daphne started crying after being so suddenly pulled out of her sleep. "She's not all that much to look at, is she?" He held the baby at arm's length. "And she's noisy too. Just like you were, Dany!"

Daniella's heart had stopped. Daphne opened her eyes and, finding herself in a different environment, stretched her little arms, raised her head and started crying much louder. The sound of her baby's cry of sheer fear would certainly destroy Daniella, and her eyes blurred as she pleaded with Logan, "Just give her to me, Logan. Please, don't do this."

Logan looked at his sister. "I think we need to take a walk, Dany. I don't like the idea of you staying here all alone."

Daniella stood, leaning heavily against the side of the bed, trying to will the sudden dizziness away. "I'll go with you, Logan, I'll go wherever you want. Just put her down on her crib first."

"No, Dany. The three of us are going. You don't look very steady right now, so I'll take the girl." He adjusted the baby on one arm, grimacing with annoyance as the cries hurt his ears, and offered his other hand for Daniella to grab.

Daniella looked at the hand, then back at the door, hoping against all hope someone would arrive. Then she took his hand, her eyes focusing on her daughter again, her mind now filled with the most intense fear she'd ever felt in her life. Not for herself, but for her daughter.

* * *

**Josiah ate with one eye glued to the plain, round clock situated over the door to the tea room. The coffee cake he'd picked out for himself was a bit dry; he picked at it listlessly with his fork and tried to spread the frosting around a little more.**

**Every so often, though, he looked up at Noah and smiled a small, warm smile.**

**"It's nice, isn't it? Even with all of this," he motioned vaguely at his ugly robe. "Feels just like when Pea was born, really. Well, except that was a Muggle hospital, of course. And she came out bald. Did ye see all the hair on that baby?" he asked, grinning. "It's so like his I almost expected her to pop out with a couple of grey hairs there in the front, no lie."**

**He polished off the sub-par cake and crossed his silverware over the small, dainty plate.**

**"Anyway, do you reckon it's been enough time?" he asked, a little impatiently.**

* * *

"Aren't you going to finish that?" Noah asked, watching Jo play with his food. He'd finished his own piece of cake by now.

Noah didn't have siblings, and he'd never even seen a baby that little before, now that he thought of it. He wasn't an emotional person in general, and he felt awkward in that kind of situation, so he'd stood in the back, letting Dan and Jo fuss at the baby, until Dan called him.

She'd made him hold the baby, which he'd done with much hesitation and extreme caution – what if he broke her?

A few moments later, he was staring at Daphne with what Dan called a foolish smile. He'd quickly gathered himself, but he couldn't help the warm feeling that still filled his chest now.

"Yeah, but she's much more adorable than Greengrass," He said, smiling back at Jo. He followed his gaze at the clock. "Yes, let's go. Maybe Ezra is here already! That's a moment I don't want to miss," he added, in an attempt to lighten up their moods.

He took a bite of Jo's cake, even though it was a bit dry and stood with more agility than his apparent age would allow. He took Jo's feminine, wrinkled hand and they hurried out of the tea room.

* * *

**Jo had spent so much time caring for Pearl as an infant that the situation, though strange, almost felt like he had been catapulted back in time. To say that he was naturally maternal was an understatement; he had the sort of demeanor that was reminiscent of a large and determined but friendly mother hen, and any excuse to add new chicks to his brood was one that he took happily.**

**It was precisely for this reason that he felt so uncomfortable leaving Dan and Daphne for any meaningful stretch of time. Not only was he concerned for the baby, whom he had loved instantly, but he was also worried for Dan. Dan was also his chick, albeit only in a theoretical manner of speaking.**

**He toddled down the hall with Noah in tow. Upon reaching the doorway, however, he stopped so abruptly that the other boy rammed into him; he did not notice, because his entire body had flushed so suddenly and so warmly with terror that he could not feel anything else.**

**Instinctively, he reached for his wand and let it lead him into the room like a beacon.**

**It was empty. The textured white blanket was in a tangled lump where Daniella had once been. Perhaps even more painfully, the crib was empty. There was no note; there was no anything.**

**He lowered his hand and looked to Noah helplessly, his wrinkled eyes wide with shock and horror. It was then that a nurse, followed closely by a magically-pulled water tray, came to the doorway and stopped.**

**"Oh, I'm sorry. Has she been discharged already?" the young woman asked them, confused. "Merlin's beard, I'm really losing it. It's these long shifts, you know. They never tell me anything."**

**Josiah stared at her hollowly, trying to will his mouth to move.**

**"Did you see anyone?" he asked in a soft, strangled whisper.**

**"No ma'am, not a soul," she replied dutifully, shaking her head. "Last I saw was you two going down to the cafeteria. Did she not tell you she'd be going?"**

**The nurse clicked her tongue and surveyed her cart.**

**"Well, anyway," she said, with a tone of finality, dragging the cart across the hall to another room. Jo whipped around to look at Noah, his panic condensing into something much more serious and still.**

* * *

Noah's attention sharpened immediately when Jo stopped abruptly and pulled out his wand. He took his own wand as he regained balance and entered the room after Jo. "Where are they?" He asked uselessly, the warm feeling now replaced by something much more similar to hot anger.

He listened to the exchange in silence, since all he wanted to do was call out the woman for not paying attention to her patients.

"Do you think Ezra took her home?" He asked, although that was obviously not the case. They'd never leave without telling them.

The panic and fury in those unfamiliar old lady eyes made his own fury boil closer to the surface. He really wanted to see his boyfriend's face right now. It suddenly felt like he'd somehow lost everyone that was close to him in one go. He shook his head. It was Jo in front of him, even if it didn't look like him.

"Jo… What do we do?"

* * *

**Josiah's heart was thumping so strongly against his ribcage that he was almost positive Noah would see him shake with the force. He tightened his grip on his wand, closed his eyes, and tried to produce a coherent thought.**

**"You go to Hogsmeade," he said softly, eyes still closed. A plan was forming behind them. "Go through the back door – find Ezra. I'll – I'll go back to the house and see if the elves know anything. If they're not there, I'll catch up with you. If you have to leave before I get there… leave me a note, will you?"**

**He opened his eyes, finally, and searched the wrinkled old face that might have been a stranger's if the eyes did not so obviously carry Noah's personality. He smiled a small, watery smile.**

**"I'll catch up with you," he repeated softly, brandishing his wand in preparation to Disapparate.**

**"And–" he murmured, a little hesitantly. "Noah, be careful. I don't know what's going on, but I know someone's up to no good. I love you."**

**He snuck a quick glance around and, satisfied that they weren't being watched, gave Noah a very hungry, very unladylike kiss on the mouth, with tongue.**

**Then, he disappeared with a loud crack and a few wisps of white smoke.**

* * *

Noah wasn't very fond of that plan, but he realized the quickest way to find out what had happened – and to find Ezra, because he was sure Ezra would've dropped everything to get to St. Mungo when he saw the note – was doing what Jo was suggesting. At least he'd be going home. He should be safe there.

"Ok. You make sure you do that. Be careful too, Jo. I can't lose you too, right now." He might've said something else, if old-lady-Jo hadn't kissed him then.

In a different situation, maybe Noah would spend some time considering the awkwardness of being kissed like that by someone who looked old enough to be his grandmother, but right now, he only had time to feel slightly awkward at the thought that a kiss like that could feel so different, and yet so…

The loud crack snapped him back to reality. Frowning, he searched his pockets feverishly for any piece of parchment. If Ezra arrived before they could find him, how would he know what had happened?

Deciding there was no time to figure that out, he disappeared with another crack. By the time he arrived at the back door to Ezra's shop in Hogsmeade, Noah had returned to his own features, for which he was very grateful. He couldn't properly fight in that old man's body.

The night had fallen, so he wasn't surprised to find the shop closed, but when he peeked through the windows, he didn't find Ezra anywhere.

He did what Jo had said and went around to the back door. It was locked, but after a few attempts, he managed to break the lock Ezra had used. It made a considerable amount of noise, and still not even a light was turned on the inside.

He knew Ezra wasn't there even before he went inside.

"_Lumos!_" He murmured, looking around the small back room that had been Ezra's house for the last few months.

Nothing looked like it had been moved, even though he'd never been there before. Some of Ezra's personal objects were still around the room. More and more concerned by the second, Noah searched the entire building, hoping to find a clue as to what was going on.

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Ezra emerged from the folding doors of the Knight Bus feeling more than a little ill for the experience. Being unaccustomed to any form of motorized or steam-powered transportation faster than the Hogwarts Express, he ducked into a nearby dark alley and was promptly sick beside a wide aluminum rubbish bin. He worried instantly, instinctively, what the passersby would think of him; of course, he reminded himself, he was in Sheffield, and nobody in Sheffield worth their salt roamed the streets any later than it took to get from work to home for dinner.**

**All things considered, the stupid Muggles would probably just think he was drunk. And indeed, Ezra would rather be drunk than in Sheffield.**

**After a few more moments of fruitless heaving – he hadn't eaten anything all day, anyway – he pulled out his wand and held its lit tip in front of his wristwatch. It read ten-thirty.**

**He pulled out the small scrap of parchment that Logan had given him next, lowering the light at the tip of his wand until he could only barely read it.**

**340, South Main Street, Sheffield.**

**Then, he set off at a brisk pace, letting the salty summer air brush his hair back haphazardly as he walked. He stopped at the end of Main Street, turned, and began looking at business numbers. 336… 338…**

**The sidewalk ended abruptly into an intersection, and he stared at it for a moment, puzzled. He looked across the street, where Elm Street apparently began. He looked at the parallel sidewalk, where all the businesses ended in odd numbers.**

**He looked down at the parchment once more and then crumpled it with such force and such anger that a shower of red sparks issued from his wand in response. Then, as though for comfort, he reached his hand into the knapsack he'd carried with him and searched with one hand in the dark for the small leather-bound notebook that he used to communicate with Daniella.**

**His fingers found nothing, and in his impatience, he aimed his wand at the bag instead.**

**"_Accio_ Notebook!"**

**But nothing happened.**

**Confused and alarmed and enraged beyond belief, Ezra Disapparated instantly with a huge crack that echoed between the bricked buildings of the darkened street.**

**The poor family who lived in the small Sheffield apartment at the corner of Elm and Main jumped to a start, all at once, and looked around confusedly at each other for a moment or two before turning their attention back to the television…**

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

**Josiah cracked into Hogsmeade with renewed panic, fumbling for the back door of Ezra's shop, which was unlocked when he arrived.**

**He rushed into the main room of the small building just in time to hear a second crack that startled him almost to tears; a warm breeze ruffled his hair as the front door banged open noisily and Ezra stepped through it looking murderous, wand held aloft.**

**"They're not there," he told Noah in a strangled voice that was at least one octave higher than normal. He was holding both of his palms outward in a position of surrender. "We've looked everywhere in the house, and I've told Pokey to let me know if anything comes up, but—"**

**He looked helplessly from Noah to Ezra, the latter of whom lowered his wand. His black eyebrows were furrowed; his windswept, white-streaked hair and angry eyes made him look eccentric at best and, at worst, more than a little bit terrifying.**

**"Who's not where?" he demanded in a tone of voice so raggedly furious that this time, much to his own embarrassment, the dam that had been holding back Josiah's emotions finally broke loose. The chubbier of the three boys let out a strangled, muffled sob into his empty hands. If anything, this stoked the perilously glowing ashes of Ezra's temper. He rounded on Noah.**

**"WHO'S not WHERE?" he demanded again, much more loudly this time.**

* * *

Noah barely had time to recover from his own startle at the two other boys' Apparations when Jo said the words he'd been fiercely hoping not to hear. At least not while Ezra looked about ready to murder someone.

At Ezra's question, he couldn't find the words to tell him what had happened. It pained him to even look at his friend. He wasn't taking care of himself, he looked years older than he was and he was so skinny Noah thought he could break him in two, if he tried.

Instead he slipped his arm around Jo, trying to comfort him. That didn't last long, though. At Ezra's insistent shout, Noah positioned himself in front of Josiah, his entire body tense and ready to fight. Because he could only imagine how his friend would react to such news.

He cared for Ezra, and he would do anything in his power to help him through this… starting by doing everything in his power to not let him hurt Josiah.

Eyeing Ezra's wand intently and wondering if a killing curse hurt, Noah finally looked up to meet the Slytherin boy's eyes and said, "Dan is missing, Ezra. As well as…" He swallowed hard before he managed to add, "as well as Daphne."

* * *

**Ezra paused for a long, terrible moment. The words did not seem real. Noah and Josiah, standing solidly in front of him, did not seem real. The world might have very well melted away, or ended abruptly; perhaps he was dead.**

**No. He only wished that he was dead.**

**"Daphne," he repeated in a soft breath, suddenly unable to control any of his most basic processes. He stumbled backward a couple of steps and braced himself instinctively on a large, heavy wooden shelf that supported dozens of tiny potion vials, which rattled ominously. His breath began to come in quick, shallow rasps.**

**He could not wipe Logan's shit-eating drunken smile out of his mind. It simply would not leave.**

**The shower of sparks emanating from his wand would not cease; they only grew in intensity, swelling in parallel with his hatred and panic and fear. The stream grew to such an extent that the tip of his wand began to smoke; the undirected magic flashed brightly against the wooden floor and faded into nothing.**

**He didn't need to check to know what had happened – Logan had taken the notebook. He would never be without it otherwise. Logan had taken it, had tricked him, had distracted him and pushed him aside and taken the two things in the world most dear to him. The only two things for which he still lived. He had been slaving away for two organizations, sacrificing his time and his body, battling his loneliness and a host of other personal demons that tormented him without pause. He had done all of this for Daniella and their unborn child, who had entered the world and he had not seen it, had not even known…**

**He removed his hand from the shelf, which promptly burst into flames and then collapsed in a shower of sawdust. Every vial crashed to the floor and broke at once; their contents mixed over the freshly powdered wood and began to hiss.**

**Ezra looked at Noah, or perhaps through him, with glassy eyes.**

**"I," he began, far too softly. "am going to kill him. I'll kill him." He took a few steps forward so that his face was level with Noah's, although he did not, or perhaps could not, make eye contact.**

* * *

Noah's heart ached with Ezra and for Ezra, but he couldn't afford to relax just yet. At this moment, he couldn't tell what Greengrass was going to do next; he had no idea what he could do to help him.

Logan. Of course it had to be Logan. That bloody son of a bitch, who claimed he loved his sister and yet kept making her life miserable.

Burying his own fury as best he could for the time being, Noah rested a hand on Jo's cheek for a moment, trying to silently let him know Noah would take care of them all somehow. Then, he took a step forward, directing Ezra's attention to him.

"Daphne," he repeated softly, trying to keep Ezra focused on the only two people that could possibly keep him grounded enough to get through that. He tried to smile, but all he managed was a lip quiver. "She's beautiful, Ezra. And we'll get her back."

Ezra had threatened to kill Logan before, but there was something about the quiet intensity in which he said those words now that sent a shiver down Noah's spine. He wasn't making an empty threat.

Noah had never thought of himself as a coward, but it took all the courage in him to meet Ezra's eyes without showing fear or hesitation, to touch him not knowing if he would receive that gesture with tears or more fury.

He rested a comforting hand on Ezra's shoulder. "We will get them back, mate," he repeated fiercely. "I promise."

* * *

**Ezra reeled slightly with the touch; human contact, especially comforting human contact, was something foreign to him now. Still, it brought the room slowly back into focus. More importantly, it brought the situation back into focus….**

**His eyes fluttered shut for a few brief moments. His wand stopped spraying sparks onto the floor.**

**The only sound left was Josiah's poorly muffled sobbing, which he could not seem to control.**

**"Josiah."**

**"Ezra?" Jo phrased it like a thin, watery question. "I'm so sorry, I didn't—"**

**"Go home."**

**There was a small, sniffling pause, and Jo faltered for a moment between defiance and obedience.**

**"I need you at home," he elaborated flatly. His voice was distant, but firm. He opened his eyes and finally managed to look Noah in the eye.**

**"You don't have to come," he said softly, after a moment's pause. "If you don't want to."**

* * *

Noah nodded in agreement at Ezra's request. "You should be there, Jo. I'm sure if she finds a moment to Apparate out of wherever they are, she'll go home."

He looked at Ezra, who looked more like a worn out ghost than an actual human being. They'd find a way to fix this. Those two had suffered enough at Logan's hands already.

"I'm going with you, Ezra," he said, firmly.

There was a moment of silence, while no one knew exactly what to do. When Noah thought Ezra had regained enough of his self-control to not do anything silly for now, he turned to Jo and put his arms around his boyfriend, needing the comfort.

"Go home, Jo," he repeated softly. "Send us a message with a Patronus if she gets back. If she doesn't… we'll find them." He kissed his boyfriend softly on the lips.

When he turned back to Ezra, he was as ready as he'd ever be for what was about to come. "What now, Greengrass? Do you have any idea where they are?"

* * *

**Ezra loved Noah like a brother, but he was also in no mood to put up with blind loyalty. After Josiah had Disapparated – not, of course, before returning Noah's tender kiss – he reached for the other boy's wrist and clasped his thin, pale fingers around it.**

**"I mean it, Ledger," he said darkly. "Tonight… I'm not a good wizard. I'm going to…" Ezra clenched his teeth so hard in anger that it almost kept him from finishing his sentence. "I might do some things… you might not be able to look at me the same way. I won't blame you."**

**He released his grip on the other boy's wrist and pulled back.**

**"I have my suspicions," he murmured hollowly. "Finding him won't be the hard part. He'll be expecting me to piece things together. It's what he's done since…" emotion clogged his throat momentarily, and it took every bit of strength he had to swallow it again.**

**"I need to gather some things," he finished, after a long pause. He walked past Noah to get to the makeshift bedroom behind him and, hesitantly, closed the door.**

* * *

Noah was surprised with the strength on Ezra's hand. He was silent after Ezra's words. That single thought crossed his mind again. It hadn't been a hollow threat. He wondered what would happen to anyone who tried to stand between Ezra and Logan, in the end. That startled him in a different way. Despite everything, it was Daniella's brother, and she suffered with him, because of him. What if she tried to get in the way? There was no telling how she would react to this situation.

They all knew – or at least wanted to believe – that Logan wouldn't harm Daniella, but who knew what he could do to Daphne? He remembered what it had felt like to hold that little precious baby in his arms and his fury bubbled up. She'd only been in this world for a few hours and that bastard…

He opened his mouth to speak and realized Ezra was gone. He heard the muffled sounds coming from the bedroom. Determined, he went to the door and gave it a quick knock before opening it.

"He took your wife and your daughter. How could _'I'_ blame you?" He asked simply. "You'll do whatever needs to be done. I get that, Greengrass. I won't stand in your way."

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

Daniella had cried, had screamed and argued, had pleaded. The baby's cries of fear would certainly drive her crazy if she couldn't hold her daughter right now. She couldn't breathe, she felt like the weight of the entire mansion was pressing down on her chest.

Logan had closed her in her old bedroom at the cabin and taken Daphne away from her sight. She could only hear the crying.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, the door burst open and Logan came inside.

Daniella shot upward and tried to take her baby back. He allowed it that time, looking positively pissed off. "Make sure you shut up that annoying little brat, will you? Merlin's beard!"

Daniella held Daphne as close to her body as she could, stepping away from Logan as far as the room would allow her. Without realizing she'd done it, a bubble shield snapped around her and the baby immediately.

"You have ten minutes to shut her up." Logan said, before turning around and starting to leave. He stopped and turned back to Daniella, who was just about ready to try and Apparate out of there.

He smiled. "Oh, and before you have any ideas… you can't Apparate in or out of here now. And no need trying to run away, sis. In your current state, I doubt you could take more than ten steps before I caught up with you. Also, if you hear any loud noises, it's your dear husband coming to the rescue. Don't get startled." His lopsided grin gave him a deranged look.

"_I hate you_," Daniella murmured viciously, meeting his eyes. Realization dawned on her as she made sense of his last few words. "You called him here? What the hell do you want from us, Logan?"

For a brief second, Logan looked wounded, before that something much darker and dangerous filled his eyes. "I'll leave you alone if that's what you really want, Dany. But he…" He bared his teeth, hatred filling his eyes. "He took everything from me, he has everything that should've been mine!" He tilted his head to the side. "But don't worry Dany, I'll let you say your goodbyes if you want. And you won't be left with nothing." He eyed the baby. "You'll have all his money and that big house to live in. But he is mine."

* * *

**Ezra heard the door open behind him and pivoted; he placed a small cobalt vial in Noah's hands.**

**"Everlasting Sun Potion," he informed the other boy vaguely. "But don't take it yet. You'll be needing it in the dark." There was only one vial, but Ezra didn't seem concerned about this. Instead, he caught a brief glimpse of himself in the mirror and bit back a scowl.**

**His eyes… did they look like Logan's eyes? Did he really look so deranged? In all his rage, he had neglected to realize… after all this time, he and Logan were only two sides of the same galleon.**

**"Let's go," he murmured, pushing the unwelcome thought aside. He grabbed for Noah's wrist again and, without ceremony, Apparated them both. They emerged at their destination; it was pitch black, but the sound of rushing water and the telltale texture of sand under his feet assured him that they had, indeed, arrived on the beach in the village of Formby.**

**"It's still a few kilometer's walk to the cottage," he whispered to Noah, shedding his bothersome and expensive overcoat. His white shirt nearly glowed in the moonlight. "Couldn't risk it any closer – he'd have heard us for certain. Ledger, listen to me."**

**He turned awkwardly on the thick sand and faced his friend. With mild effort, he put both of his palms on the other boy's broad, muscular shoulders.**

**"If anything happens to me – if I go mad from the pain, or if he finishes me off there – if anything happens to me, you've got to promise me you'll take care of… of Daniella. Of Daphne. Of everyone. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"**

* * *

Noah was about to ask what did that small vial do when, without warning, he felt the pull of a Side-along Apparition.

The smells of the ocean filled his nostrils as he regained his balance. _The cottage?,_ he thought, confused. He refrained from making any comments, though. Ezra seemed to know what he was doing, and the last thing they needed right now was to waste time with stupid questions.

Ezra's hands on his shoulders forced him to look at his friend intently. He could've said a lot of things. He could've said it'd be fine, but Ezra didn't need that. So, he told '_himself'_ it'd be fine, and that when it was all over, he'd be able to take them all back home, or Jo would have his head served on a platter.

"Yeah…" he murmured. Then, louder, "Of course. I'll keep them safe. You can count on that."

They made their way out of the beach and into the woods that had once been their home in silence. Even that place Logan was somehow trying to steal from them.

When they were far enough into the woods that they needed to keep their hands ahead of them to avoid bumping into a tree, he whispered, "So, what's the plan now?"

* * *

**After slogging through the forest in silence for some fifteen minutes, Ezra groped for Noah in the dark. He wasn't sure what he had grabbed – shoulder? back? – but he grabbed it nonetheless.**

**"He'll have put up enchantments," Ezra whispered. "I'll take care of that. Drink the potion now. Listen for a crow – three times. That's how you'll know it's safe."**

**Then, without any further explanation, his features began to shift. There was a slight creaking noise as his bones became smaller and far less dense. It had been uncomfortable the first few times, but now he hardly noticed the twinge; whether it was nerves or adrenaline or simple practice, he could not say. His arms, which had shrunk into wings and grown a thick covering of glossy black feathers, ruffled softly in the summer air as he unfolded them for a test flap. If it had not been so dark, a single white feather above the crow's right eye would have been prominently visible.**

**He clicked his beak twice and, with that, took off into the night. The only way to find out where the enchantments began was to trigger them, and he couldn't risk doing such a thing in his human form. It was too obvious and far, far too slow.**

**He gave his wings a few more vigorous beats, rising to a new height among the treetops so that he could properly look down. With the lights of the cottage as his guide, he sped through the night.**

* * *

Noah raised his eyebrows and gave Ezra an unsure look. He was about to tell himself his friend still had his sanity intact when Ezra started to shift in front of him.

"What the…" He stared at the crow, stunned. "When did you learn to do that?!" But the crow-Ezra had taken off already.

He stood there for another minute, not sure what to do. Now that he was left alone, the magnitude of what had happened and the task ahead of them was starting to hit him. They'd done dangerous things before, but this… If something went wrong this time…

Shaking the doubts away, he looked at the potion. He hadn't had a chance to ask what it did, and he couldn't remember anything about it from school. Shrugging, he drank it in one go.

He huffed; it was so hot, burning all the way down to his stomach. About three seconds later, he froze, as if caught in headlights; he covered his eyes against the light and thought for a terrible moment that Logan had caught him. Then, he realized it was the potion.

When his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, he realized he could see as clearly as day. "Fancy stuff, Greengrass," he murmured.

Since Ezra had asked him to wait, he left the faint trail, leaned against a tree, and waited.

* * *

**=/=/=**

* * *

Daniella sat on the bed she'd shared with Ezra for months, rocking her daughter, now sleeping peacefully. The bubble shield was still active around her.

She thought of the other times she'd done magic without her wand, without even being aware of it. Wasn't that the idea of going to school, to learn how to control your own magic? Was there something wrong with her? Not that she was complaining for the moment, since it had allowed her to keep her baby close to her and away from Logan's hands so far.

She looked out the window, into the darkness outside. She had no idea how to get out of this situation. Most of all, she wanted Ezra to be there, but at the same time, she didn't want him to find her. She wasn't even sure Logan would waste time talking this time, before killing him.

Suddenly there was a loud noise. Daniella nearly fell off the bed; Daphne woke up, letting out a small sob that was about to turn into crying.

Daniella rocked the baby as she eyed the bedroom door. She knew what that meant, and all she could think about was that Logan was going to come in there and-

The door burst open. Logan set his deranged gaze on them. "Give me the baby," he said quietly.

"No." Daniella shook her head. "Logan, please don't do this. You have me already, I'll go wherever you want."

"Dany," Logan warned, raising his wand and closing in on her. Daniella knew the shield wouldn't stand against whatever he threw at them.

She wanted to fight, she wanted to curse him and stop him, but all she managed was to stop the sob rising in her throat for a while longer.

"Don't make me hurt you," he said, reaching out and pulling the baby out of her arms again. When the tip of his wand lit up threateningly, Daniella had no other option than to let go.

He turned around and walked away, without as much as a second look at his sister, his wand blatantly pointed at the newborn.

The door closed after him and she heard the sound of a lock. He'd locked her in that room, alone.

Daniella wrapped her arms around herself and cried.

* * *

**Ezra landed on a low branch, not ten feet from the lit window of the back room. He felt the enchantment trigger; it made his feathers prickle unpleasantly. He still couldn't see entirely into the room. He made a short hop to a lower branch, closing one black, taloned foot around the thin wood. It bowed under his weight and he rocked there for a moment, peering around with his ultra-crisp vision.**

**He saw Daniella first, although his attention was drawn immediately to the swaddled bundle she was cradling. The oddness of the moment was not lost on him: he hadn't planned for his first glimpse of his daughter to be through the eyes of a crow. Still…**

**She was beautiful. It was only when Logan's back blocked his view that the reality of his situation once again became clear. He'd felt the enchantment; he was in a hurry.**

**Anger did not have the same impact on him in animal form. His thoughts were much simpler and more straightforward. Perhaps it was a blessing; as it was, he was already one pissed off crow.**

**As soon as he saw Logan leave the room with his beloved child and Daniella slump over in tears (so beautiful, even then), he took his opportunity and swooped down from the branch. His talons clicked on the windowsill as he perched. With one last, cautious glance at the door Logan had disappeared through, Ezra set his mind to the task at hand.**

**He pulled back his shiny black head and, with impressive conviction, used his beak to tap on the glass multiple times in succession.**

**He waited.**

* * *

Daniella raised her head abruptly, looking at the door, hoping against all hope Logan had changed his mind, or that Ezra was there, or…

Sweeping the tears off of her face, she noticed the taps weren't coming from the door, but from the window. There was a bird there. A crow, she noticed, sniffing the last of her tears away as the rest of her hopes died.

It was just a crow. Although it was a very stubborn one. Confused, she got out of bed and approached the window. The crow didn't leave, just stared at her. It was the purest black, except for one white feather above its eye. And those eyes. Something about them made her heart give an odd little skip.

Looking over her shoulder, she opened the window as quietly as she could.

* * *

**Ezra was incredibly relieved when Daniella opened the window without further prompting. He had been afraid that it would take more coaxing, and he wasn't sure that he could take much more tapping on the window. What he had done had already made his beak sore.**

**Taking this as evidence that he had, without a shadow of a doubt, married the right woman, he issued three quick caws into the darkness and hopped over the threshold of the window. His tiny black feet clicked on the wood as he went. With tentative care, he placed one crow foot on her hand. Then, with a quick tilt of his shiny black head and a very quick beating of wings, he made his way onto the floor beside of her and began to morph back into human shape. The transition was quicker this time, and he looked around wildly for a few seconds before apparently remembering where he was and exactly what he had meant to be doing.**

**He met Daniella's eyes. They broke his heart and repaired it in the same instant – just the sight of her, real and in person and unharmed, was enough to bring tears to the rims of his eyes.**

**He scooped her up and held her tightly, silently; he wasn't sure how many seconds would pass before Logan came back to check on her, and time was of the utmost importance.**

**"Noah's outside," he whispered against her ear. "It's not safe here. Are you able to get out of the window?"**

* * *

If the situation wasn't so terrible, Daniella might've been amused with the bird, jumping so confidently onto her hand and into the bedroom. Her exhausted brain barely registered that that was very odd behavior for a bird before the creature started to shift, revealing the one person she'd been desperate to see for past few hours.

Something caught in her throat and she wasn't able to say anything until Ezra put his arms around her. She clung to him, breathing in his scent. He looked so thin and tired and gorgeous. "You're here," was all she managed to say.

That was, until he told her to leave. Frowning, she pulled back just enough to meet his eyes and shook her head. "No. No, I won't leave you; I won't leave Daphne." Daphne. He hadn't seen her yet. "Ezra, he's got her…"

* * *

**He had known she would protest, of course. She always did. It was one of the things he loved about her. Now, though… he could not bear for her to be trapped there any longer. He closed his eyes tightly against her words and brought his lips to her forehead.**

**"I know," he whispered, still barely audible. "I'm going to get her. I promise you, Daniella – I'm going to get Daphne back. But you're not safe here with me."**

**He opened his eyes; they unwillingly flicked to the closed door again.**

**"I need both of you on the outside. It's critically important."**

**He brushed her hair aside with a gentle hand and studied her beautiful, tear-stained face. Had her cheeks always been that rosy? No, surely not… what a stupid thing to think at a time like this, anyway.**

**"Please."**

* * *

Daniella hated that he was right. She hated Logan right now, with an intensity only comparable to the intensity of her love for Ezra and Daphne.

"Ok." She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment, convincing herself to walk away. "I'll go." She looked into his dark, piercing eyes. "Do what you need to do to come back to me," she whispered, kissing his lips lightly before pulling away.

It was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she turned her back on her husband and climbed out the window slowly and quietly.

She hadn't taken more than three steps outside when a familiar bulky shape came out of the shadows, pulling her into a protective hug.

"Dan? Merlin's pants, are you ok?" Noah guided her into the trees nearby and looked over her frail looking body, deciding that she was relatively unharmed. Then he noticed what was missing. "Where's Daphne?" He whispered.

Daniella closed her eyes and lowered her head. "She's inside… they're both inside…"

Noah huffed out a breath. He helped her sit against a tree, kneeling beside her. "Alright, Dan. Don't worry, I'll go back and help them. Just… just promise me you'll stay here. Don't do anything silly, ok? I'll get them back." He had no idea how to keep that promise, though.

Daniella nodded vaguely, her eyes still fixed on the cottage. He supposed that was as good an answer as he'd get.

He walked back out of the shadows, listening carefully as he circled the house to the front door.

* * *

**Ezra didn't watch her go; if anything, he was worried that the sight would make him even sicker with worry and heartache, and that wasn't something that he could afford at the moment. Instead, he focused his attention on the doorknob. He approached it cautiously with his wand held aloft. It was locked, but that was easily remedied.**

**He'd built this door, after all, and he could damn well un-build it.**

**With a silent and elegantly complex series of flicks, the door ground itself into a pile of beige dust. He stepped over it and through the now-empty doorway, fixing his glittering black eyes on the man who had tried to ruin his life.**

**"Sheffield didn't work out," he said, his voice chilling in its easy nonchalance. "But I daresay the fresh air did me some good. Put down my daughter, Logan. You'll be needing both hands for this."**


End file.
